THE UNEXPECTED – The new cruise crime novel is out – and here are details of the pitch for the high-end television drama which uses the content of two books: 4 Murders, and the new The Unexpected. It includes the pitch deck in various forms.
For most, The Unexpected is a thrilling cruise book.
The Unexpected is a dark, intense, and sophisticated thriller that unravels beneath the polished façade of the international cruise industry. It fuses pulse-pounding action with rich character drama, balancing suspense, sharp humour, and keen cultural insight — all set against an audacious initiative to revive the Baltic cruise route into Russia. Layered with complexity and always emotionally resonant, this is a world where freedom dances perilously close to betrayal.
Pitch Deck slides as PDF – plane artwork, no illustrations
PITCH DECK as PAGES document – download button
Full Pitch Deck as a film
This rest of this post will be a spoiler for a book reader because it is the TV pitch, and much is revealed. The Book is released on July 8th 2025. Pre order now.
This is the Amazon link – https://amzn.to/44ak8XL. AMAZON KINDLE LINK
THE UNEXPECTED
Think Slow Horses meets Zero Day, but on the luxury decks your audience has walked….
Groomed activists, sleeper agents, espionage, and betrayal—The Diplomat meets Jack Ryan.
After thwarting a Russian-backed cruise ship terror plot on Christmas Day, investigator Kieron Philips is marked for death by the Kremlin. To survive, and stop a global escalation, he must eliminate the one man who knows his identity—before he is revealed to the Kremlin.
TV SERIES PITCH
Pitch Deck slides as PDF – plane artwork, no illustrations – click and download – more formats below.
The 8 part television series THE UNEXPECTED uses two books from the ten book series. INDYUK FILMS are pre-developing book two books are 4 Murders, A Wedding, and A Cruise – which is about a terror threat to the cruise industry, and, The Unexpected which deals with the fall out. The two CSCI books make the TV series The Unexpected.
THE UNEXPECTED — ONE PAGE PITCH
The Unexpected is sharp, fast, and smart. A gripping geopolitical thriller laced with wit, set against the lavish backdrop of the $40-billion cruise industry under terrorist threat. The story unfolds on an unknown ship on Christmas Day, where disaster was narrowly averted.
After foiling a coordinated terror attack across more than one hundred cruise ships, orchestrated by disillusioned American Stop Oil protesters groomed by a foreign power, the Cruise Ship Crime Investigators (CSCI) face a new, deadlier challenge: retaliation. With team leader Kieron Philips now on a high-priority Russian kill list, Kieron must dive deep into enemy territory to survive.
Disguised as part of a Baltic cruise route revival, complete with a touring soul band and journalists covering the hype, the team navigates a tense passage through Latvia, Helsinki, and Estonia, finally reaching St. Petersburg.
The nations along the route, desperate to reignite their cruise economies, eagerly promote the initiative, unaware that beneath the surface lies a covert mission to prevent a second Russian strike against the West’s dream holiday industry.
This tightly woven series blends geopolitical intrigue, betrayal, and survival with a character-driven narrative that probes the illusion of liberty, the cost of freedom, and the quiet trauma borne by those who defend it.
Kieron Philips wrestles with impossible choices between love and duty, contending with unpredictable local militias and competing agendas. Wealthy cruise magnate Daniel Creedon orchestrates the initiative that rides the wave of press euphoria, masking the deadly stakes. Lead singer Marvin’s mantra, “Getting free… freedom from drugs, from pain — it’s the same as freedom from oppression,” resonates deeply with the team’s personal struggles and the broader global mission.
The Unexpected is a story of psychological liberation disguised as political espionage, where freedom demands more than anyone expected. Symbolism runs deep as locals dance across the Friendship Bridge, literally crossing the Estonia-Russia divide, while unseen forces play a larger game. Kieron and his team are pawns in a dangerous chess match for survival.
TAG LINE
He saved the cruise industry. Now he must disappear… and re-emerge inside Russia to silence the man who can destroy him.
SHORT TEASER
The Unexpected plunges you into a world where freedom is cruising—and it comes at a cost. In the wake of a foiled terror plot targeting multiple cruise ships on Christmas Day, Kieron Philips and his eclectic team save the day. But victory has its price. Now marked for death and placed on a Russian kill list, Philips must strike first.
His mission: sail up the Baltic undercover as the manager of a soul band, disembark in Tallinn, and cross into St. Petersburg by train for a one-night gig—under the guise of reviving the Baltic Cruise Route. But his true objective is far more dangerous: assassinate the one man who can expose the truth to the Kremlin.
As they cruise into hostile territory posing as entertainers and tourists, the team must navigate local militias, political betrayals, and a ticking kill list. With allies uncertain and time running out, music becomes both their cover and their defiance in a covert operation that could ignite global chaos.
GENRE
Crime Thriller / Action / Mystery / Cruise / Espionage
STYLE
Suspenseful. Investigative. Visceral. With noir elements, black comedy, and cultural edge.
This is the YOUTUBE version of the filmed pitch deck – play from here –
Pitch Deck slides as PDF – plane artwork, no illustrations
To view the novels, please follow this Amazon link AMAZON BOKK PAGE – go to button
Pitch Deck slides as PDF – plane artwork, no illustrations
PITCH DECK as PAGES document – download button
Pitch Deck text as used on slides as Pages document (slightly briefer)
PITCH DECK at PDF – download button
PITCH DECK as RFT document – download button
PITCH DECK as Keynote slides – download button
PITCH DECK as PowerPoint slides – download button
These books have hit number 1 on various Amazon charts both in the UK and in America.
