If the police always know where I am, how do I kill you?
DI Clive Lussac has forgotten how to do his job. Ten years of embedded technology – ‘iMe’ – has led to complete control and the eradication of crime. Then the impossible happens. A body is found, and the killer is untraceable. With new partner Zoe Jordan, Clive must re-sharpen his detective skills and find the killer without technology, before time runs out for the next victim...
'A vision of the future that both chills and entertains' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express magazine.
Proximity selected as one of "4 of the best beach reads: summer 2019" https://themalestrom.com/4-best-beach-reads-summer-2019/
NB Magazine gave it 5*
'The writing hurtles along like a runaway train and you can barely pause for breath. What renders it original and ingenious is the background of embedded technology called ‘iMe’ (how perfect is that?!) It’s a crime thriller and it is very thrilling.' https://nbmagazine.co.uk/proximity-by-jem-tugwell/
‘An ingenious and highly plausible look at crime in a future with 100% surveillance’
Claire McGowan, best selling author
‘Very topical, terrifying, perfect concept for a crime novel’
Stav Sherez, Award winning author
‘Darkly twisted crime novel in a future that seems to now closer every day. Fantastically imaginative and gripping.’
Angela Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author
5* Review ‘I must admit that I finished the book with a prayer that I will never see something like iMe in my lifetime - the idea is just too terrifying’
Breakaway Reviewers
‘5*s from me as the storyline is brilliant…Plenty of discussion topics here for book clubs!’
EmmabBooks
'Proximity hits hard and cold right to the heart of what could be our future, and this knowledge makes this book one of the scariest I have ever read. I don’t care for horror. Just give me a speculative novel shaping a future so realistic I don’t even need to close my eyes to imagine it, and I’m sold. Sold and freaked out. Jem Tugwell’s outstanding description of years to close to ours to my taste left me speechless.’
Meggy Chocolate’n'Waffles
'A brilliant book, an excellent thriller and 100% entertaining. Highly recommended. Really can’t wait for a follow up! Genius.’
Books from Dusk Till Dawn
5* Review 'An enjoyable and somewhat unnerving peek at what technology could be like in our future. “Proximity” is fast-paced, imaginative and could easily be featured as the next episode of “Black Mirror”. It’s a big 5 stars from me!'
What Rebecca's Read
“You won’t be able to put Proximity down, and you’ll be happy about it. So, in conclusion, when Proximity becomes the bestseller it deserves to be and Jem Tugwell is the name everyone’s talking about, just remember, you heard it here first.”
Dorset Book Detective
“PROXIMITY is a fantastic read to pick up this summer, not just for the topical warning about technology and the problems of too much oversight, but for the good, old-fashioned, page-turning thriller element.”
The Crime Review
Leading the trend in speculative crime thrillers, Jem Tugwell’s thrilling and thought-provoking debut sits alongside Black Mirror and The City and the City in an unsettling exploration into our near future. Proximity draws on Jem’s 20 years of professional experience as a software developer in the city to give a disturbing insight into how our world might be transformed by the rapid advance in embedded technology and fitness trackers.
What if the cash-strapped NHS can be given a second life by using tech to regulate our health and behaviour? What if we can eradicate proximity crimes by tracking everyone’s activity? What if civil liberty is seen as acceptable sacrifice for the greater good? What if the convenience of technology is used for control?
Although Proximity does have a futuristic element to it, I would classify it as an alternate police procedural, rather than sci-fi – there are no spaceships, aliens, superheroes, etc. It's a crime thriller set in a world that could easily be only a few years away. A Black Mirror future meets a City and the City style thriller.