Umbrellas and Undertakers (An Isle of Man Ghostly Cozy Book 21)


Diana Xarissa - 2022
    

Unravelling: A Damaged Mind can be Dangerous (Anglesey Mysteries #3)


Conrad Jones - 2021
    Beautifully crafted into a warped and gripping story that I didn't want to end.★★★★★ Unravelling is a standalone novel that will shake you to the core.A gripping tale of betrayal and brutal revenge. Sergeant Ernie Metcalfe is a family man, changed by his experiences in Afghanistan. He has a wife, Naomi and three beautiful daughters, aged 7, 8 and 10. When he finds out his wife is having an affair with a fellow officer, his mind begins to unravel. His life begins to spiral out of his control and he can't allow that to happen. Detective Inspector Alan Williams and his team are already struggling to cope with a series of attacks on a group of men accused of historical abuse. The attacks appear to be connected to a recent case but all is not what it seems. Damaged minds are dangerous and revenge can be brutal.★★★★★ What an edition to the series! One of the best series you will read..If you like gripping and violent, the Anglesey books will enthrall you.★★★★★ One word for this. Outstanding!★★★★★ A powerful and gritty read, not for the faint hearted. This author will drag you into the story and rattle your very being until the last page.

Twelve Days of Trauma


Jasper Joshua West - 2019
    They are on their way to visit his parents for Christmas, but they never arrive.Tim has an unshakable feeling that something will go horribly wrong even before they set off. What happens is far worse than he could have imagined.The tragedy that occurs sees grief-stricken Tim back in his investigator role, seeking justice.

The Heathcliff Lennox Series: Books 1 - 2: (The Heathcliff Lennox Series Boxset Book 1)


Karen Baugh Menuhin - 2020
    Major Heathcliff Lennox, ex-WW1 war pilot, six feet 3 inches, unruly dark blond hair, age around 30 - named after the hero of Wuthering Heights by his romantically minded mother - much to his great annoyance. Murder at Melrose Court is the first book in the Heathcliff Lennox series. It's 1920 and Christmas is coming. Major Lennox finds a body on his doorstep - why on his doorstep? Was it to do with the Countess? Was it about the ruby necklace? Lennox goes to Melrose Court home to his uncle, Lord Melrose, to uncover the mystery. But then the murders begin and it snows and it all becomes very complicated.... The Black Cat Murders is the second book in the Heathcliff Lennox series. Who killed Sir Crispin Gibbons? A wedding invitation and news of mischief that could be murder, takes Lennox to the Earl of Bloxford's country pile. He soon finds himself in a world of purloined artworks, forgeries and a priceless Bloxford Beauty. But who are the Bloxford Beauties? And why are they the focal point around which swirls death?Lennox must confront life-long friends, unscrupulous artists and dealers to finally unravel a plot so complex that even his old adversary, Chief Inspector Swift of Scotland Yard, is befuddled.

The Sheriff's Miracle Bride


Rowan Gracemill - 2021
    

Peeping Thoms


Dustin Stevens - 2017
    Not until he begins to outline the backstory behind the case, and why it is imperative that she help him, does she pause to reconsider. Three months prior, a tourist was murdered in Waikiki. On the surface, the case is as simple as they come, but as Thoms continues to dig, she discovers the man was actually an investor visiting Oahu from the mainland, and the last place he was seen alive was outside a nightclub in dire financial. Working with her adult twin children, Thoms begins to piece her way back through what happened that fateful night, a search that sends her bouncing from the bright lights of the strip to the tranquil sands of the North Shore. In between, she uncovers so much more than she ever realized existed in her island home, all in the name of ensuring that justice is finally served...

Animal Instincts


Chloe Kendrick - 2015
    Literally. He talks to animals to see clues other people would overlook. Like when the proud owner of a pair of Scotties goes missing, Griff knows foul play has to be involved, because the dogs tell him there’s no way she’d leave her pampered pooches alone in the winter. But when he shows too much interest in what the Scotties have to say, an attractive police detective takes the wrong kind of interest in him. Viewing him as a possible suspect, she digs up secrets about Griff he would have preferred left buried. And that’s not even his biggest problem—taking the dogs into his home has made him a target of the victim’s abductor. This makes him scurry to solve the case, because as an expert on animal behavior, there’s one thing Griff knows to be true: the most dangerous animal is the human animal.

DETECTIVES MERRY & NEAL BOOKS 1-3: three gripping crime mysteries box set


Janice Frost - 2018
    Meet DS Ava Merry & DI Jim Neal. If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this series. You get THREE best-selling mysteries in this great value box set. BOOK 1: DEAD SECRET Who killed Amy Hill? Amy Hill, a nineteen-year-old student, is strangled and her body dumped on open ground in the city. New police partners, D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate this brutal crime. The last person to see Amy alive was Simon, the son of a family friend, but before he can be properly questioned he disappears. Detectives Neal and Merry are led on a trail of shocking family secrets and crimes. Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies? Stopping this tragic cycle of violence will put D.S. Merry’s life at risk in a thrilling and heart-stopping finale. BOOK 2: DARK SECRET Gray Mitchell’s body is found buried under fresh snowfall in the early hours of the morning outside Stromford Cathedral. D.I. Jim Neal and D.S. Ava Merry are called in to investigate. It seems that a number of people had motives to kill him, including his partner. Then another shocking act of violence occurs, also connected to the cathedral. Detectives Neal and Merry’s investigation reveals an intricate web of secrets connecting the crimes. But there is something the detectives have missed, the dark secret which can break open the case. BOOK 3: HER HUSBAND’S SECRET Two children sneak out on a freezing winter night, hoping to see a ghost. But instead they witness something far more terrifying. A man dumping a body . . . DS Ava Merry and DI Jim Neal are called in to investigate this perplexing murder. Eventually the dead man’s wife is identified. But Laura Cameron’s husband turns out to have kept many secrets from her. And when she goes to visit her old friends who live near where the murder happened, Laura enters a dark web of lies as she tries to dig into the past to discover the truth about what happened to her husband. Who killed her husband how does it tie into the past? In a thrilling climax, everything will be turned upside down in the twisting crime thriller. THE DETECTIVES DS Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. DI Jim Neal is single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son. DS MERRY & DI NEAL SERIES Book 1: DEAD SECRET Book 2: DARK SECRET Book 3: HER HUSBAND’S SECRET Book 4: THEIR FATAL SECRETS Book 5: DIRTY SECRETS What readers are saying about Janice Frost’s books “Really enjoyable read.” Nerys A wonderful story of intrigue, mystery and murder keeps you reading. I actually completed it in one day much to my wife’s dismay!” Ron Harris “It had me gripped from the first word to the last. I will definitely be reading more Janice Frost books.” Jacqueline Flaherty “I just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next.” Dawn

Detective Michael Angel: Books 8-14 (Yorkshire Murder Mysteries #8-14)


Roger Silverwood - 2021
    That is, until his body is found floating in the River Don. Who killed him and why?BOOK 9: THE MISSING THIEFTwo victims. One ultra-glamorous thief spotted fleeing the scene. Who is the mystery woman in the raincoat? And what is she running from? It’s up to DI Angel to piece it all together before the killer strikes again.BOOK 10: FIND THE LADYCan Angel find the lady in the blue dress? She’s already killed once. Witnesses swear they saw her at the grisly scene. But Angel knows that’s not possible. His prime suspect is in a portrait. And it’s over sixty years old.BOOK 11: THE MISSING MODELWigmaker Peter Wolff is found dead in his workshop. The place has been burned, leaving no clues, no DNA and no motive. Can Angel unravel the mystery of Wolff’s murder before anyone else pays the ultimate price?BOOK 12: MURDER IN BARE FEETMillionaire Charles Pleasant is shot dead in a scrapyard. Near the spent handgun shells, Angel finds one crucial clue: a print left by a bare foot. Who killed the playboy millionaire? And why ever weren’t they wearing shoes?BOOK 13: THE MISSING HUSBANDWealthy Selina Line marries a man she hardly knows. Then she vanishes. Who stands to gain from her demise if not her new husband? There’s just one complication. As Angel soon realises, Selina’s husband never existed.BOOK 14: THE CUCKOO CLOCK MURDERSA writer is murdered on a lonely retreat. In his bed, the killer left a shocking something . . . And that’s not all. Wherever Angel goes, there’s a cuckoo clock. An unlikely coincidence or a threat he shouldn’t ignore?

The Northminster Mysteries Books 4-6


Harriet Smart - 2019
    Here, young Scottish surgeon Felix Carswell and Chief Constable Major Giles Vernon are tasked to uncover the truth in three complex tales of murder and detection set in Early Victorian England. The Hanging Cage Summoned to the bleak market town of Whithorne in the midst of a winter storm, Major Giles Vernon and police surgeon Felix Carswell are embroiled in another challenging investigation. A beautiful young heiress has been found dead in her bed, and although suicide seems the most likely cause, the circumstances soon point to a tangle of illicit relationships and painful secrets. As Major Vernon pursues the truth behind Annabella Barker's death, further shocking events soon unfold, including another suicide At the same time, called in to deliver a son and heir, Carswell is drawn into the affairs of the eccentric Yardley family at Whithorne Castle, but it is no distraction from his anxieties about his troubled relationship with Sukey Connolly. Major Vernon, for his part, unexpectedly encounters an old acquaintance and is forced to question both his past and his future. When a partial skeleton is found in a culvert, events begin to take a still darker turn, and Vernon and Carswell must pursue an unimaginable evil. As November floods threaten the bridges of Northminster itself, dangerous enemies emerge close to home and the struggle for justice becomes a matter of life and death. The Hanging Cage is the fourth Northminster Mystery, featuring early Victorian detectives Vernon and Carswell. The Ghosts of Ardenthwaite Something is amiss at Ardenthwaite. Ghostly apparitions have been seen, so terrifying that the mistress of the house and the servants have deserted the place. Colonel Parham, the tenant, asks his landlord Felix Carswell and Major Giles Vernon to determine what is going on. But their investigations soon takes an unexpected turn, leaving them in confusion and doubting their own sanity. Shortly afterwards, a man dies in Northminster Infirmary, the victim of a brutal and systematic attack which seems to point to dangerous criminal forces hitherto unknown in the city. Vernon has his suspicions as to who is behind it, and with Carswell's assistance he begins to unpick a complex network of alliances and enemies. Yet, as their best witnesses meet brutal fates, they are forced to face the grim possibility of failure. Having been forced into unpleasant compromises to gain access to the truth, Giles is further unsettled by the return of Emma Maitland to Northminster, now engaged to another man. As she assists him with the case, he begins to realise all that he has lost. For Felix Carswell, a bizarre and other-worldly encounter with a beautiful, spirited young woman throws up the possibility of an extremely advantageous marriage. Eleanor Blanchfort is an heiress and Lord Rothborough's ward. Has destiny brought them together as she suggests, and can Felix find the will to resist such a dazzling temptation? The Echo at Rooke Court Felix Carswell returns from his blissful wedding journey and is at once called to the bedside of a young man fighting for his life.

Lines of Duty: Deputy Corus Mystery #1


Mark Hazard - 2019
    The series you didn’t know you’ve been missing. From lauded author Mark Hazard comes a new off-beat crime series about a man with one name, a hidden past, and an uncontrollable urge to root out villainy. Mere weeks after returning from his final deployment, Corus is a cadet at an elite police academy in Seattle. While doing grunt work at a local precinct, he comes across a set of diamonds taken from the scene of an unsolved hit-and-run. Not only did the diamonds go unclaimed, but the still-living victim is nowhere to be found. When the diamonds turn out to be fakes, it’s one too many oddities in an attempted murder with no suspects. Instincts forged in covert action plunge Corus headlong into criminal ranks, but taking the fastest route to answers runs roughshod over the delicate procedural approach he’s supposed to be learning. Corus knows he’s threatening his new life and career in the process, but putting the mission before self-preservation is the hardest habit of all to break. The one man who can help Corus sort through his issues is the least likely of all. Albert Chu is a cheery and childlike cadet who's failing the academy but has a knack for getting into Corus' head. In trying to rein Corus in, he ends up proving his mettle, and together they fight to prevent multiple murders and foil a kidnapping plot, even while the eye of the law they hoped to serve is turned on their actions.Can Corus unite the lines of duty pulling him in different directions, or will he end up another casualty of the war he brought home?Through Corus’ journey runs a cracking mystery/crime story with humor, thrills, and a cast of well-drawn side characters, from small-time gangsters and rodeo riff-raff to Corus' wife who grapples with her own grifter impulses. The Deputy Corus series is precisely the blend of action and depth that readers of James Patterson and Lee Child are looking for.What readers are saying about the series: “…Nuance of character development that is often lacking these days. - especially with books that deal with military or police.” “A heck of a caper that'll make you laugh a lot more often than most crime novels.” “Not at all the same cookie cutter outline that most crime writers follow for their main character. It's much more complex and enjoyable.” "Exactly the story I was waiting for!" "In Lines of Duty, Hazard paints a scene with his words that transported me into a new world and created thought-provoking and enticing dilemmas. This story is entertaining and engaging. I recommend Lines of Duty 100% to anyone who loves a good mystery." "If you’re looking for a paint-by-numbers procedural, this isn’t the book for you, but if you crave deeply human crime drama with a fair share of thrills and humor, then this is a must-read." “This series is as enjoyable as Lee Child’s Reacher books.”

The Sandman


McClelland & Stewart - 2014
    For readers of Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Jo Nesbo.      During a cold winter night in Stockholm a man is found walking alongside a railway bridge, suffering from hypothermia and legionella. After he's rushed to the hospital, it's discovered that, according to a death certificate, the man has been dead for over seven years. He is believed to be a victim of notorious serial killer Jurek Walter, who was arrested years ago by Detective Inspector Joona Linna and sentenced to a life of total isolation in forensic psychiatric care. As Joona Linna investigates where the "dead man" has been all these years, some unexpected evidence leads to the reopening of a cold case. Danger is imminent, and someone needs to get under the skin of the serial killer--fast--as they are running out of time.

A VERY MODEL MURDER: An Inspector Rudolph Riley Mystery


Jack G. Hills - 2017
    But to add further angst to the growing list of gruesome killings is his boss’ decision to re-open the cold case involving the disappearance of a school boy in what has become an annual test of endurance… The Ten Tors Race. Unsure why a twenty year old case has suddenly come to the top of his in tray, his suspicions are aroused further when the murder victims all appear to have been school friends of the missing boy. Adamant that coincidences don’t exist in police work Riley sets about trying to find the link between Sam Haldane’s disappearance and the recent killings, other than the obvious connection of friendship. Added to his troubles, is the presence in the area of a fugitive, who has his own ideas about revenge and justice and an unscrupulous developer, who wants to buy the land surrounding his farm and turn it into a theme park, with scant regard for the history or the people who were thrown off their land prior to D Day. With the disappearance of the schoolboy and the final showdown all set around the infamous Fox Tor Mire, which was allegedly the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Grimpen Mire in the Hound of the Baskervilles, the murderer is finally revealed but not without one final twist of the plot. But in all the blackness and soul searching there is one ray of brightness for Riley, and its one that will bring him a little closer to his brother and shows a different side to the curmudgeonly detective.

Murder in Disguise


Frances Lloyd - 2018
    His face is smashed to an unrecognizable pulp.Most of the guests on that fatal evening are in costume, making the detectives’ task even more difficult.But the most baffling aspect for Detectives Harry Montague and Gavin Jones is that only one person staying in the new wing had registered under a genuine name and address.HOW CAN YOU CATCH A KILLER IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHO THE SUSPECTS REALLY ARE?Then another corpse is discovered.It will take some inspired sleuthing to catch the killer...WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FRANCES LLOYD“There are some unexpected twists in the plot and a few laughs along the way and the reader is kept guessing until all is revealed in the end.” Annie“A great book that you won't want to put down.” Alan“This murder mystery is a real page turner, I was hooked from start to finish. The descriptions of the Greek island were so vibrant I felt I was actually there.” AngelaALSO BY FRANCES LLOYDTHE DETECTIVE INSPECTOR JACK DAWES SERIESBook 1: THE GREEK ISLAND KILLERBook 2: THE BLUEBELL KILLERBook 3: THE SHETLAND KILLERBook 4: THE GALLOWS GREEN KILLER

Fighting for Love


Emma Ashwood - 2020