The Empress File

The ultimate con game thriller from the internationally bestselling master of suspense, John Sandford When the cops of Longstreet, Mississippi see a black boy running away from them and clutching something in his hand, there's only one thought in their minds - bag-snatcher. So they shoot him in the back. Except, Darrell Clark isn't a thief, he's a computer-crazy fourteen-year-old, who was running home before his ice-cream melted. And now he's dead. When the predictable police cover-up begins, Darrell's friend, Marvel Atkins, decides it's time for the corrupt city government to go. Using Darrell's computer, she contacts the only two con artists with the nerve to take on a whole city: Kidd, computer-hacker extraordinaire, and his partner and some-time lover, LuEllen. To pull this off, the sting has to be perfect. And it will be, because if Kidd knows one thing, it's this: a corrupt city regime is about as stable as a house of cards. All he has to know is where to push... *Praise for John Sandford* 'One of the great novelists of all time' Stephen King 'A series writer who reads like a breath of fresh air' Daily Mirror 'Delivers twists to the very last sentence' Daily Mail 'Crime writer John Sandford is one of the best around' Sun 'John Sandford knows all there is to know about detonating the gut-level shocks of a good thriller' The New York Times Book Review ​ 'Sandford is consistently brilliant' Cleveland Plain Dealer 'Perfect entertainment' Kirkus Reviews on Escape Clause

John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of thirty-three Prey novels, two Letty Davenport novels, four Kidd novels, twelve Virgil Flowers novels, three YA novels co-authored with his wife, Michele Cook, and five stand-alone books. In 2025 he was named a recipient of Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master Award, which represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing.