Orchestrated Death


Cynthia Harrod-Eagles - 1991
    Struggling with a complex case, Slider also faces turmoil at home when he must choose between his wife and an exciting new love. A rich and powerful debut.

Ties That Bind


Carolyn Arnold - 2011
    The rest of the world thought she was going crazy—until it was too late.When Laura Saunders is found strangled in her home with a man’s necktie, Detective Madison Knight is assigned the case. Her sergeant at the Stiles Police Department wants her to conclude it was an isolated incident and move on with the investigation, but Madison’s not the type to cave under pressure. She’s haunted by certain unexplainable clues at the crime scene, including the presence of a mysterious photograph. Madison believes the picture may somehow tie into the murder, but before she can dig into it, another woman’s body is discovered in a local park. Heather Nguyen was also murdered with the same brand of necktie that had been used on Laura.On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything beyond the way they were killed that connects the women. But as Madison delves into the lives of the victims, she unravels a web of deceit and betrayal and lays bare decades of deadly family secrets. Edging closer to the truth, Madison’s quite sure at least one more woman is slated to die. But can Madison piece together all the clues in time to save her?A gripping crime thriller full of heart-pounding twists. Perfect for fans of Robert Dugoni, J.D. Robb, and Lisa Regan.Readers love Ties That Bind:“Arnold has written one of the best female cops that I’ve ever read… Madison is just one of those characters that will stay with you.” –Harlie’s Books, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A good detective story with lots of twists and turns and an unexpected ending.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“This is one heck of a mystery!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Brace yourself for the ending! I didn't see that one coming.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I loved Madison Knight and her sassy dialogue.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“I found myself unable to stop reading this book.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A must-read for the mystery fan.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“So many twists and turns I never saw the ending coming!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“A solid police procedure mystery.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“If you like true suspense, this is a book to read.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Like watching an award-winning police drama in my mind.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Intriguing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“Well-written and researched on police procedures.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“It was very difficult to set this book aside to do something else.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“From the moment I began reading this book, I was hooked.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Surrey Stalker


B.L. Pearce - 2019
    An ambitious young detective. A case that could destroy everything he holds dear.When a young woman is found raped and strangled along the Thames River path, it looks like a personal vendetta by an enraged ex-lover. Then two more women die in the same manner and it becomes clear that a deranged serial killer is on the loose. All three women were engaged to be married. Could this be the link between them?The case is assigned to DI Rob Miller, a young, ambitious detective, whose job it is to catch the killer before any more women are murdered. Rob throws himself into the investigation to the detriment of his own fiancé who is planning their wedding. When Rob begins to hone in on the killer, his fiancé disappears, and Rob knows it's only a matter of time before the killer makes this personal.

The Crow Trap


Ann Cleeves - 1999
    Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal...For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide...When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide - a verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept.Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picture - the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives...

Long Shadows


Derek Thompson - 2020
    A KILLER WHO CAN’T FORGET.Detective Craig Wild couldn’t cut it in London. Now he must swap the Met for Mayberry, a sleepy Wiltshire backwater where ambition goes to die.It was supposed to be a second chance. Then Wild is faced with the most baffling case of his career.Eccentric farmer Alexander Porter is found shot dead in his own field. Everyone assumes it was suicide. But Wild knows there’s more to it than that.Determined to uncover the truth, he teams up with plucky PC Marnie Olsen. They set off on a twisting trail.The first suspect is Nathan Porter, Alexander’s tearaway son. Wherever Nathan goes, trouble follows.Then someone else dies.Wild and Marnie must delve into the darkest corners of the family’s history if they are to uncover the truth.Can they unmask the killer before Wild’s own chequered past catches up to him?

A Journal of Sin


Darryl Donaghue - 2014
    A troubled priest is brutally murdered, leaving behind a journal of the resident's confessional secrets; secrets certain people would prefer he took to the grave. As word spreads, the pressure rises as the eyes of the town watch her every move. With no forensic team, no support and a savage killer hiding in a turbulent town, is PC Sarah Gladstone up to the task?

Death in Profile


Guy Fraser-Sampson - 2016
    Pressurised by senior officers desperate for a result a new initiative is clearly needed, but what?Intellectual analysis and police procedure vie with the gut instinct of ‘copper’s nose’, and help appears to offer itself from a very unlikely source – a famous fictional detective. A psychological profile of the murderer allows the police to narrow down their search, but will Scotland Yard lose patience with the team before they can crack the case?Praised by fellow authors and readers alike, this is a truly original crime story, speaking to a contemporary audience yet harking back to the Golden Age of detective fiction. Intelligent, quirky and mannered, it has been described as ‘a love letter to the detective novel’. Above it all hovers Hampstead, a magical village evoking the elegance of an earlier time, and the spirit of mystery-solving detectives.Guy Fraser-Sampson is an established writer best known for his series of ‘Mapp and Lucia’ novels which have been featured on BBC Radio 4 and optioned by BBC television. This is his debut work of detective fiction, and the first title in the Hampstead Murders series.

Dark Game


Rachel Lynch - 2018
    But when the truth comes out deadly prices are paid...After a scandal forces DI Kelly Porter out of the Met, she returns to her home turf in the Lake District. Crimes in the Cumbrian constabulary tend to be of the minor sort, but Kelly begins work on a cold case that shocked the local community – the abduction and brutal murder of ten-year-old Lottie Davies.Meanwhile, Kelly is also investigating two seemingly straightforward crimes: a case involving an illegal immigrant, and a robbery following the death of local businessman Colin Day. But evidence comes to light that reveals a web of criminal activity beyond anything Kelly imagined. Behind the veneer of sleepy, touristy towns lies a dark and dangerous underworld. As Kelly threatens to expose those with much to lose, she risks paying the ultimate price to get to the truth…

Deadly Lies


Chris Collett - 2004
    A syringe is in his arm and a note by his side reads, ‘No More.’Open and shut case of suicide? Not for DI Mariner. Hours before, he saw Barham picking up a woman in a bar. And then Mariner discovers Barham's younger brother, Jamie, hiding in a cupboard under the stairs.Jamie is the only witness to his brother's death, but his severe autism makes communication almost impossible. Mariner is determined to connect with Jamie and get to the truth. Is the journalist’s death related to his investigation of a local crime kingpin? What other dark secrets does Jamie hold the key to and can Mariner keep his relationship professional with Barham’s attractive sister, Anna?In a nail-biting conclusion, Mariner races against time to prevent more lives being lost.Perfect for fans of Peter James, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson.

A Litter of Bones


J.D. Kirk - 2019
    Was the biggest case of his career the worst mistake he ever made?Ten years ago, DCI Jack Logan stopped the serial child-killer dubbed 'Mister Whisper,' earning himself a commendation, a drinking problem, and a broken marriage in the process.Now, he spends his days working in Glasgow's Major Incident Team, and his nights reliving the horrors of what he saw.And what he did.When another child disappears a hundred miles north in the Highlands, Jack is sent to lead the investigation and bring the boy home.But as similarities between the two cases grow, could it be that Jack caught the wrong man all those years ago?And, if so, is the real Mister Whisper about to claim his fourth victim?A Litter of Bones is the explosive debut crime thriller novel from JD Kirk, an exciting new voice in Scottish crime fiction.

Brighton Belle


Sara Sheridan - 2012
    Accepting a job at a debt collection agency seems a step toward a more tranquil life. But as she follows up on a routine loan to Romana Laszlo, a pregnant Hungarian refugee who's recently come off the train from London, Mirabelle's instincts for spotting deception are stirred when the woman is reported dead, along with her unborn child. After encountering a social-climbing doctor with a sudden influx of wealth and Romana's sister, who seems far from bereaved and doesn't sound Hungarian, Mirabelle decides to dig deeper into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. Aided by her feisty sidekick—a fellow office worker named Vesta Churchill ("no relation to Winston," as she explains)—Mirabelle unravels a web of evil that stretches from the Brighton beachfront to the darkest corners of Europe. Putting her own life at risk, she must navigate a lethal labyrinth of lies and danger to expose the truth.

The Snowdonia Killings


Simon McCleave - 2019
    A big city detective. Can she unravel the gruesome trail of clues before the killer strikes again? Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation. Has Ruth got what it takes to solve the case before the murderer attacks again? The Snowdonia Killings is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series and set against the majestic backdrop of Snowdonia, a timeless land of Arthurian legend, folklore and myth. If you like dark police procedurals, psychologically complex characters, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s pulse-pounding debut novel.

The Dark Winter


David Mark - 2012
    To that moment when the masked man appeared from the doorway of the church and looked into his eyes.‘Is there anything distinctive, Sarge?’ asks Nielsen.‘Yes’, he says, with the sudden sense that memory is important.‘There were tears in his eyes.’DS Aector McAvoy is a man with a troubled past. His unwavering belief in justice has made him an outsider in the police force he serves.When three seemingly unconnected people are brutally murdered in the weeks before Christmas, the police must work quickly to stop more deaths. It is only McAvoy who can see the connection between the victims. A killer is playing God – and McAvoy must find a way to stop the deadly game.

The Mangle Street Murders


M.R.C. Kasasian - 2013
    He drains his fifth pot of morning tea, and glances outside, where a young, plain woman picks her way between the piles of horse-dung towards his front door.March Middleton is Sidney Grice's ward, and she is determined to help him on his next case. Her guardian thinks women are too feeble for detective work, but when a grisly murder in the slums proves too puzzling for even Sidney Grice's encyclopaedic brain, March Middleton turns out to be rather useful after all...Set in a London still haunted by the spectre of the infamous Spring-heeled Jack, THE MANGLE STREET MURDERS is for those who like their crime original, atmospheric, and very, very funny.

The Burning


Jane Casey - 2010
    It's the name the media has given a brutal murderer who has beaten four young women to death before setting their bodies ablaze in secluded areas of London's parks. And now there's a fifth. Maeve Kerrigan is an ambitious detective constable, keen to make her mark on the murder task force. Her male colleagues believe Maeve's empathy makes her weak, but the more she learns about the latest victim, Rebecca Haworth, from her grieving friends and family, the more determined Maeve becomes to bring her murderer to justice. But how do you catch a killer no one has seen when so much of the evidence has gone up in smoke? Maeve's frenetic hunt for a killer in Jane Casey's gripping series debut will entrance even the most jaded suspense readers.