Stephen Johnson Author
Stephen Johnson is a versatile author who writes gripping thrillers and crime fiction with vivid settings and compelling characters. His work spans various genres, from the adrenaline-filled Melbourne Spotlight Mystery series to historical fiction like Peace Stick, set during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His stories often explore themes of activism, personal struggles, and high-stakes drama, drawing inspiration from his diverse experiences as a journalist, TV producer, and world traveller.
New Series
I’m thrilled to announce that Clan Destine Press, my Australian publisher for the Spotlight Mystery Series, has secured the rights to the new Rebecca Cashmore Thriller Series.
Clan Destine will start with Don’t Kiss the Gecko, the sequel to No Repeats which introduced Rebecca Cashmore, a brilliant barrister and fearless television broadcaster whose careers and freedom were threatened by a shocking private life.
Rebecca’s efforts to rebuild her life unravel in Don’t Kiss the Gecko when wealthy businessmen, obsession and dark secrets turn lethal. The only man who can save Rebecca is the cop who charged her with murder.
A third Rebecca Cashmore thriller is planned for later in 2027, while the fifth book in the Spotlight Mystery Series, The Last Autograph, will be available in the new year.
Available as Ebook or Paperback
"Stephen Johnson has brought to life a unique protagonist in the sharp, elegant, supremely confident Rebecca Cashmore – lawyer, journalist and consensual practitioner of sexual kinks – in this lively, intriguing thriller." - Narrelle M. Harris
About the author:
Stephen Johnson is an award-winning former TV producer, kayaker and wanderer who now plots thrillers from his home on the Tamaki River in Auckland.
His debut novel, Tugga’s Mob, was inspired by three seasons in Europe as a tour guide on double-decker buses in the ‘80s. Tugga’s Mob was a finalist in the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards for Best First Novel. It was written in a motorhome nicknamed Kwozzimoto while driving 33,000 kilometres through a dozen countries and more than 100 campsites. An attempt to escape work created a new passion and career.
The second crime fiction novel, Boxed, was published in November 2021 and is set in the world of animal rights activism and the Melbourne media.
Stephen’s first historic novel, Peace Stick, goes behind the Iron Curtain during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s a story of innocence and hope as two East German schoolgirls deal with a world on the edge of a nuclear war. The novel was inspired by a woman who now lives in Auckland.
The third novel in the Melbourne Spotlight Mystery series, Kaikōura Rendezvous, was published in 2023. A cyclone, a down-on-his-luck fisherman and a TV reporter suffering PTSD from a bullet wound converge in Kaikōura with deadly consequences.
2024 saw the Spotlight TV crew feature in Dark Deeds Down Under 2, a crime and thriller anthology edited by Craig Sisterson. It also marked the launch of a new Auckland series with No Repeats. Rebecca Cashmore’s high-profile media and legal careers are threatened when her secret life implodes.
The Spotlight crew went international in 2025 to chase a killer on the streets of London and the Oxford Canal in their fourth mystery, Dead on Target.
Clan Destine Press secured the rights to the Rebecca Cashmore thriller series in 2026, releasing Don’t Kiss the Gecko, the sequel to No Repeats.
Check all books written by Stephen
Check out the books Stephen has written by clicking the button below!
2020 Ngaio Marsh Finalist - Best First Novel
