Just Kill Them: British Detective (Jonathan Roper Investigates)


Michael Leese - 2019
    Three terror attacks that sent shock waves through London, triggering plans to evacuate the Royal Family. Police, politicians and the security services are left scrabbling for answers. When a previously unknown group claims responsibility the mystery deepens. This is the dramatic back drop to the most challenging investigation yet undertaken by autistic crime solver, Jonathan Roper, and his mentor and friend, Chief Inspector Brian Hooley. The pair are the detectives Scotland Yard turns to when all else fails. Before long they are sucked into the case and are about to discover they will face challenges that will test them to the limit. To have any chance of success they are going to need every ounce of Hooley’s policing know-how… but above all they will need Roper at his brilliant best. His autism has given him savant like qualities that enable him to spot things others miss and make intuitive leaps before anyone else realises there are connections. These qualities make him a superb investigator, but he lacks social skills and can be a complex man to deal with. He’s already been on the brink of being thrown out of Scotland Yard because he has managed to put so many back’s up. Hooley can see past the problems to the special detective underneath but, as his father always told him, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The veteran DCI has to ride some intense personal observations as he helps the younger man stay on track. It is this “special relationship” that makes the Roper series stand out. It provides unexpected warmth and genuine humour at even the darkest moments. But this time it emerges that fate has a few nasty surprises in store for Brian Hooley. Not only does he need to support Roper, his own health will become an issue that sets the clock ticking. The investigation also sees Hooley and Roper running a new team, unofficially dubbed the “Odd Bods” and introduces two new investigators that Roper is championing. Just Kill Them is a dark, page turning thriller that grabs you by the throat from the beginning... don’t be surprised to find yourself laughing out loud.

Reputations: A Madeleine Porter mystery


John Nixon - 2019
    Inevitably, the conversation turns to family history and Margaret says that she knows very little about her late husband's background. Madeleine offers to help but Margaret is determined to do it for herself, but says she will keep Madeleine informed. A few weeks after they return from the holiday, Madeleine and Ian are shocked to hear of the murder of their new friend in her own home. Struggling to come to terms with this, the following day they receive a package from Margaret, which includes an old newspaper cutting giving details of the murder of an elderly couple in 1966. Margaret has scrawled on the cutting 'Peter didn't do this'. What is the connection between the two events, or isn't there one? Why was Margaret so sure about her husband and was she right? Madeleine and Ian are asked by Bernard Livesey, a friend of Margaret's, to continue her work into Margaret's husband's background, but in doing so, will her own reputation be compromised? Her friend, Peter Duffy, now promoted to Chief Inspector, is striving unsuccessfully to solve his first case since his promotion, but he realises he needs Madeleine's skills to untangle the web of complex family relationships, which is the key to the case.

Lynchpin: The Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Men


Siddharth Maheshwari - 2021
    A sinister plan, of a shrewd calculating mastermind, has set the wheels of doom in motion. He is now pulling the lynchpins across the country and making it fall into disarray. He is using everyone in his path to achieve his goals. Within thirty days he intends to control the nation’s soul. As chaos grips the country, it’s a race against time for DSP Ranbir Roy of the Intelligence Bureau and Inspector Vikram Aditya Singh to stop him before anarchy dooms the country. The pieces are set, the board is laid out but what happens when your own pawns move against you? What will be the end game?

The Vanishing (Triquetra Series Book 2)


L.C. Kincaide - 2019
     She must have been important because the mysterious client spared no expense to get her there to investigate the disappearance, making the gig too good to resist. Had Lindy known the victim’s identity, and her own financial reality were not so grim, she would have turned him down in an instant. Instead, she travels to a remote island with a man she’d rather avoid, and where the residents keep their secrets close. One of them knows the truth, and she must find it before it finds her.

The Girl on the Train: Sidekick to the Novel


Anna Gooding-Call - 2015
     Warning: This is an independent companion to The Girl on the Train, meant to enhance your experience of the novel. If you have not yet bought Paula Hawkins' novel, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial Sidekick. Riding the train on her daily commute, Rachel watches the picture-perfect couple she’s dubbed "Jess and Jason" as they go about their lives. But one day she sees something that changes her perception of the couple forever—and leads her deep into the darker truths that lie beneath the pretty smiles and charming houses of Blenheim Road. First published in the U.K. in 2012, The Girl on the Train is Paula Hawkins' debut novel and has already sold over seven million copies. With this Sidekick, you’ll: • Spend some more time with the characters you've come to know and love • Take a look at the novel’s underlying themes • Learn what you might have missed on your first read of The Girl on the Train • Explore a possible alternate ending and imagine ideas for a sequel • Get a chance to discuss Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train with other readers Sidekicks are entertaining and insightful reading companions, filled with delightful commentary and thought-provoking questions. Readers have raved that they "really put you in touch with the many layers of the novel," "keep you entertained even longer," and are "perfect if you want a vivid understanding of the story." Designed to be read side by side with the novels they complement, they’ll give you even more reasons to love some of today’s best books.

The Monkey's Raincoat / Free Fall / Lullaby Town


Robert Crais - 2003
    The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer, and the last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since - including his B-movie girlfriend. At the same time the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest - and no kid in sight - Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador. FREE FALL Read by James Daniels (Sandra Burr, Jill Sovis) Elvis Cole is just a detective who can't say no, especially to a girl in a terrible fix. And Jennifer Sheridan qualifies: Her fiance, Mark Thurman, is a decorated LA cop with an elite plainclothes unit, but Jennifer's sure he's in trouble - the kind of serious trouble that only Elvis Cole can help him out of. Five minutes after his new client leaves his office, Elvis and his partner, the enigmatic Joe Pike, are hip-deep in a deadly situation as they plummet into a world of South Central gangs, corrupt cops, and conspiracies of silence. And before the case is through, every cop in the LAPD will be gunning for a pair of escaped armed-and-dangerous killers - Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. LULLABY TOWN Read by James Daniels (Joyce Bean, Russell Byers) Hollywood's newest wunderkind is Peter Alan Nelson, the brilliant, erratic director known as the King of Adventure. His films make billions, but his manners make enemies. What the boy king wants, he gets, and what Nelson wants is for Elvis to comb the country for the airhead wife and infant child the film-school flunkout dumped en route to becoming the third biggest filmmaker in America. It's the kind of case Cole can handle in his sleep - until it turns out to be a nightmare. For when Cole finds Nelson's wife in a small Conneticut town, she's nothing like what he expects. The lady has some unwanted - and very nasty - mob connections, which means Elvis could be opening the East Coast branch of his P.I. office . . .at the bottom of the Hudson River.

Hush Little Children.


Anthony Hulse - 2017
    Her obsession with the case intensifies with the abduction of her five-year old son. Ben Orton, an ex-SAS soldier metes out revenge on former members of the IRA who murdered his brother and are released as part of the Good Friday agreement. Living in a secluded location in Scotland, a stranger approaches Orton and blackmails him into joining The Disciples of Retribution, a select band of vigilantes. The abductors of the children share an unusual fantasy, their frightening and abnormal behaviour provoking punishment for the youngsters. Hush Little Children, a tale of revenge and indignity, will frighten and captivate you.

Murderer's Fete


Roger Keevil - 2011
    Throw into the mix a celebrated author, a dodgy solicitor, and a sponging relative, and Constable and Copper really have their work cut out!'MURDERER'S FETE' WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 2012 UNDER THE TITLE 'FETED TO DIE'

Inspector Maigret Omnibus 2 (Maigret Boxset)


Georges Simenon - 2015
    . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories' Guardian 'A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness' Independent

Murder on the Orient Express / Death on the Nile / The Mirror Cracked / The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie Boxed Set)


Agatha Christie - 2003
    

Val McDermid 3-Book Thriller Collection: The Mermaids Singing, The Wire in the Blood, The Last Temptation (Tony Hill and Carol Jordan)


Val McDermid - 2016
    1 bestselling crime series featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill, hero of TV’s much loved WIRE IN THE BLOOD.THE MERMAIDS SINGINGUp till now, the only serial killers Tony Hill had encountered were safely behind bars. This one’s different – this one’s on the loose.Four men have been found mutilated and tortured. As fear grips the city, the police turn to clinical psychologist Tony Hill for a profile of the killer. But soon Tony becomes the unsuspecting target in a battle of wits and wills where he has to use every ounce of his professional nerve to survive.THE WIRE IN THE BLOODYoung girls are disappearing around the country, and there is nothing to connect them to one another, let alone the killer whose charming manner hides a warped and sick mind.Dr Tony Hill, head of the new National Profiling Task Force, sets his team an exercise: they are given the details of missing teenagers and asked to discover any possible links between the cases. Only one officer comes up with a theory – a theory that is ridiculed by the group … until one of their number is murdered and mutilated.For Tony Hill, the murder becomes a matter for personal revenge and, joined by colleague Carol Jordan, he embarks on a campaign of psychological terrorism – a game where hunter and hunted can all too easily be reversed.THE LAST TEMPTATIONA twisted killer targeting psychologists has left a grisly trail across Europe.Dr Tony Hill, expert at mapping the minds of murderers, is reluctant to get involved. But then the next victim is much closer to home…Meanwhile, his former partner DCI Carol Jordan is working undercover in Berlin, on a dangerous operation to trap a millionaire trafficker. When the game turns nasty, Tony is the only person she can call on for help.Confronting a cruelty that has its roots in Nazi atrocities, Tony and Carol are thrown together in a world of violence and corruption, where they have no one to trust but each other.

The Two Towns


J.J. Salkeld - 2014
     It is DC Jane Dixon's first week on Kendal's CID team. Her new boss, DI Andy Hall, gives her an open file to review, and it's a far from straightforward case. A woman has died in suspicious circumstances in a Windermere caravan park, and although her husband is suspected there's not a shred of solid evidence against him. Can Jane move the case forward, or will a cold-blooded killer really get away with murder? The rest of the team is busy too, because a vulnerable teenager from a troubled family has gone missing from home. There's nothing to suggest that the boy has been abducted, so what could have caused him to run away from home? DS Ian Mann, a tough ex-military man, and DC Ray Dixon are both heavily involved in the investigation. This story introduces key members of the investigative team, as well as many of the themes that are developed in the full-length Lakeland Murders novels: including a strong sense of place, and an understanding that while justice usually prevails it is rarely complete, or completely fair. Reader reviews for the full-length novels in the Lakeland Murders series include: 'Well developed, realistic, relatable characters, great plot, believable detailed scenes, good action sequences. Recommend to those that appreciate British detective novels. Always devour Lakeland murder mysteries.' 'Love J J Salkeld's books, his understanding of police procedure, his ability to draw his characters out into real people is, I believe, up there with the best of them and it is good to find crime stories set in Cumbria for a change.' 'Salkeld is good. Not just as a writer of gripping detective stories; but even more for his feisty exposure of the lunacies of institutions, hierarchies, and power. A refreshing and enlightening anarchist - much needed in these jaded, compliant and consumptive times.'

London Large - Bound by Blood (Detective Hawkins #2)


Roy Robson - 2016
    Inspector Harry ‘H’ Hawkins, only just back at work after a mental and physical breakdown, investigates the crime in the only way he knows how; he embarks on a full-blooded search for the truth. But the truth can be brutal As the murder investigation gathers pace H discovers his own son has been sucked into the dark world of organised crime. A traumatized young man; and a traumatized father H's hard-boiled instinct is to fight, to protect the things he loves. But when his son becomes his enemy his world view is shattered. How can son be turned against father? H’s gripping mission is no longer a search for a killer; but a quest to save his boy, and exact a terrible vengeance against the man who has corrupted him. And his search is a search for a deeper truth, a truth that will stretch family loyalty - and the love of a father for his son - to its very limits. Blood Is Thicker than Water…Or Is It?

Perfect Crime


Jack Parker - 2018
     The First Crime: Many people had reason to kill the victim, and they tried 'til they got it right. You'd think that would leave plenty of clues, but they don't add up right. Can a 16-yr-old. The Second Crime: A teacher was found dead and a lot of other students have had accidents, some serious. Gracie Greene's not so sure they were accidents, but can she find the pattern and motive before someone else dies? The Third Crime: At 18 years old Gracie Greene has already solved 2 murders. Now she finds herself a suspect in a 3rd murder and must solve it to clear herself.

A Fiery End


Diana J. Febry - 2020
    The driver is at the wheel, oblivious to the inferno surrounding him.There is no explanation for why the vehicle was on the road or why the quiet tradesman was murdered in such a macabre way. The only witness to the fire, claims she saw nothing. Whatever she did see goes to the grave with her when she is brutally strangled. Frustration grows when the driver’s daughter disappears.With time running out to find the daughter alive, Fiona is drawn into a web of powerful men determined to keep their deadly games secret. Juggling a family crisis and a growing suspicion her boss is corrupt, her judgement is hampered by her attraction to the man central to everything.