The Lady Vanished


Gretta Mulrooney - 2015
    He’s survived a stabbing and his fiancée running off with another man. Florence Davenport hires Swift to find her missing stepmother. There are no leads and no suspects, but if the body is found, Florence will inherit half of a very valuable house. As Swift delves deeper into the family’s affairs, he discovers dark family secrets that threaten to blow apart everyone’s lives. Will Swift get to the truth before those with much to hide stop him? Find out in this clever, absorbing mystery with many twists and turns, featuring men and women with real dilemmas and conflicts. You will not want to put this book down till the surprising and dramatic conclusion. If you like Robert Galbraith, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer. THE LADY VANISHED is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring Tyrone Swift. Swift is unlucky in love but pretty good at getting to the truth. He loves rowing on the river Thames and his ex-fiancée has just come back on the scene.

Folly


Stella Cameron - 2013
    She is starting again, buying the local pub in the area where she grew up.But on a wintery walk in the hills above Folly, Alex stumbles across a frosted corpse buried in the snow. The dead man has a dart piercing his neck.Then the questions start.And Alex finds herself top of the suspect list.Can she clear her name and find the real murderer?As she begins to peel back the layers of deception that have long concealed one of the town’s darkest secrets, she becomes the target of a ruthless killer who has nothing left to lose.Will Alex be the next snow-covered body to be found in the beautiful hills above the town?

Dead Secret


Janice Frost - 2015
    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.If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.DEAD SECRET is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring D.S. Ava Merry and D.I. Jim Neal. Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is a fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. Jim Neal is a single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.Set in the fictional Northern city of Stromford, this detective mystery will have you gripped from start to shocking conclusion

The Thames Path killer


Biba Pearce - 2021
    An ambitious young detective. A case that could destroy everything.A young woman is brutally attacked on her way home. It looks like she was the victim of a jilted — and twisted — ex-lover.But then two more women, also engaged to be married, are found dead.The press call the killer the ‘Surrey Stalker’. And there’s a stack of similar cold case files.The pressure is on for young, ambitious DI Rob Miller.But with all the time he’s spending at the office, Rob’s also running a fine line trying to keep his fiancée, Yvette, onside as they try to plan their wedding . . .AN UNSTOPPABLE CRIME MYSTERY THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT DOWNThis page-turning debut is perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, James Oswald, Joy Ellis, Angela Marsons, L.J. Ross, Alex Smith and J.M. Dalgliesh.MEET THE DETECTIVEDI ROB MILLERDetective Inspector Rob Miller of the Met is finally given his first case as Senior Investigating Officer. For an ambitious, young detective, this is a dream come true. He’s gunning for promotion, and will do anything for his job, but can he also keep his personal life in check?THE SETTINGThe Murder Investigation Team is based out of leafy Putney, with its overgrown often-flooded riverbanks. One way the river leads into central London, the other out into the countryside. It’s an idyllic setting that masks a criminal underworld.PRAISE FOR THE THAMES PATH KILLER:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A very well written police murder mystery with a great plot and well developed, believable characters.” Pete⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I love the plot and found it very interesting, it kept me guessing throughout.” Sharon⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “It pulled me in and keep me turning the pages. DI Miller is likeable and I look forward to reading more of this series.” Yvonne⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The beginning of an awesome new thriller/police procedural series. I am so pleased to discover this new author.” Saundra⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This is a gripping story you won’t want to put down. Twists keep you turning pages.” Sharon⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I thoroughly enjoyed this book — my first read by this author and I am pleased to find out there are more in this series.” Catherine⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This story will grip you from the beginning and keep you reading!” Pat

Here Be Dragons


Sharon J. Bolton - 2016
    . . in approximately thirty minutes’ time, many of them will be dead.Mark Joesbury, of Scotland Yard’s Covert Operations Unit, is undercover. Embroiled in a terrorist gang’s plans for a deadly attack at the heart of the capital, he’s risking everything to stop them. But as they prepare to target London’s most iconic landmarks, it’s no longer just countless strangers he’s fighting to save. Because they’ve also got the woman he loves, DC Lacey Flint…

A Question of Despair


Maureen Carter - 2011
    Two streets away, through the open window of an unmarked police car, and they could hear the screams.HER BABY IS SNATCHED OFF THE STREET.When a child goes missing, every minute’s precious. When a baby’s taken, every second counts.Detective Sarah Quinn is called in.Baby Evie’s mother is in pieces. But then she seems unwilling to help. What isn’t she telling them?Time is running out to find Evie alive.TWO WOMEN ON THE CASERuthless TV journalist Caroline King is a thorn in the side of career cop DI Sarah Quinn. Caroline’s emotional and impulsive. Sarah’s known at work as the Ice Queen.WILL SPARKS FLY? CAN THE THIN BLUE LINE HOLD?The investigation reaches a dead end. The clock is ticking. The two enemies must work together to get baby Evie back alive.A heart-pounding thriller you won’t be able to put down. Perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, Charlie Gallagher, Angela Marsons, DS Butler, Carol Wyer and Rachel Abbott.

The Greek Island Killer


Frances Lloyd - 2009
    SOMEONE’S POISONING PARADISE Detective Inspector Jack Dawes and his bride, Corrie, join eight other holidaymakers bound for a tiny Greek island, ready for a bit of sun, sea and sand. One of them is a ruthless killer. Mayhem ensues when a storm destroys the island’s primitive communications, cutting it off from civilization. IT’S A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY FOR MURDER. First one victim is poisoned, followed swiftly by another. Then a woman is found badly beaten in a quiet cove and a body is found in a grotto to St Sophia, the island’s patron saint. The island’s visitors are being picked off one by one. Can Jack uncover the truth before the killer ups the ante? Who will return home — and who will be sacrificed to the island? Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, LJ Ross, JR Ellis, Angela Marsons or Faith Martin. MEET THE DETECTIVES Detective Inspector Jack Dawes, tall and handsome, looks like the fuzz even when he’s off-duty. He rose up through the ranks at Scotland Yard and now is a well-respected detective in the murder squad. A career copper, he was married to the job until he met Coriander during a money laundering investigation, the case which earned him his promotion to DI. He has logical analytical skills. She has intuitive people skills. So he bounces ideas off her. They make a formidable and funny couple whose skills combine to solve crimes.

Liars All


Jo Bannister - 2009
    She's searching desperately for a cure for her baby's cancer. Attempting to keep the business afloat in her absence, Brodie's devoted friend and assistant, Daniel Hood, undertakes the hunt for a necklace stolen in a murderous robbery. Typically, his sense of fair play keeps him looking for the jewellery when a wiser man would have given up. After the first attack on him. Certainly after the second. Brodie's partner, Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon, investigates - partly as a distraction from his son's illness, partly because he begins to suspect that the hand behind these events belongs to his old adversary, Terry Walsh. But Walsh has his own agenda, and his first priority requires something that only Deacon can give him. What he offers in return presents Deacon with an agonising dilemma.

Gold Digger


Frances Fyfield - 2012
    His much younger wife Di holds him and mourns. She knows that soon, despite her being his sole inheritor, Thomas's relatives will descend on the collection that was the passion of both of their lives.And descend they do. The two needy daughters, who were poisoned against their father by their defecting mother, are now poison themselves. The family regard Thomas's wealth as theirs by right, with the exception of young Patrick, who adored his grandfather and is torn between his parents and Di, the interloper.The family know Di's weaknesses, and she has to learn theirs. After all, she met Thomas when she came to his house to rob him. With the help of an unlikely collection of loners and eccentrics, she sets a trap to hoist the family members on their own greed. And on the night they are lured to the house, Di will be ready.Or will she?

The Cost of Living


Rachel Ward - 2017
    Colleagues and customers become suspects, secrets are uncovered. While fear stalks the town, Bea finds an unlikely ally in Ant, the seemingly gormless new trainee, but risks losing the people she loves most as death comes close to home. The Cost of Living is a warm, contemporary story with likeable leads, an engaging cast of supporting characters and a dark thread running throughout.

The Lost Boy


Margaret Murphy - 1999
    WHAT’S HE SO TERRIFIED OF?Jenny Campbell promised her husband, Fraser, that they would take a break from fostering. But the plight of a small boy found wandering the streets of Garston in just his nightclothes proves impossible to ignore.TAKING HIM IN WILL MAKE HER QUESTION EVERYTHING — MOST OF ALL HER HUSBAND.The child refuses to speak, and the police have no clues as to who he is or where he comes from. Only one fact is clear - something, or someone, has left him terrified . . .Jenny's concern grows as she grapples with more unanswered questions. Why is the boy so anxious around Fraser? And why, in turn, is Fraser so unsettled by the eight-year-old's presence in his house? And who is Mr Hunter, whose cryptic phonecalls repeatedly strike at the very heart of Jenny's own pain?A nationwide appeal is launched to uncover the boy's identity. It seems the dreadful events that have left him traumatized are about to invade Jenny's secure and loving world — and rip it apart . . .AND NOW IT TURNS OUT TWO BOYS HAVE GONE MISSING. WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

Blacklands


Belinda Bauer - 2009
    Every day after school, while his classmates swap football stickers, Steven goes digging to lay to rest the ghost of the uncle he never knew, who disappeared aged eleven and is assumed to have fallen victim to the notorious serial killer Arnold Avery.Only Steven's Nan is not convinced her son is dead. She still waits for him to come home, standing bitter guard at the front window while her family fragments around her. Steven is determined to heal the widening cracks between them before it's too late. And if that means presenting his grandmother with the bones of her murdered son, he'll do it.So the boy takes the next logical step, carefully crafting a letter to Arnold Avery in prison. And there begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game between a desperate child and a bored serial killer . . .

Blue Monday


Nicci French - 2011
    A day of dark impulses. A day to snatch a child from the streets ...The abduction of five-year-old Matthew Farraday provokes a national outcry and a desperate police hunt. And when a picture of his face is splashed over the newspapers, psychotherapist Frieda Klein is left troubled: one of her patients has been relating dreams in which he has a hunger for a child. A child he can describe in perfect detail, a child the spitting image of Matthew.Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson doesn't take Frieda's concerns seriously until a link emerges with an unsolved child abduction twenty years ago and he summons Frieda to interview the victim's sister, hoping she can stir hidden memories. Before long, Frieda is at the center of the race to track the kidnapper.But her race isn't physical. She must chase down the darkest paths of a psychopath's mind to find the answers to Matthew Farraday's whereabouts.And sometimes the mind is the deadliest place to lose yourself.

The Girl From Paradise Hill


Susan Lund - 2018
    With no crime scenes, no leads and no suspects, the cases have gone cold.Until today.The remains of one missing girl are discovered in a burned-out cabin at a remote campsite, reopening the case and suggesting the worst may be true – a ruthless child killer is operating in Washington State.TESS MCCLINTOCKCrime reporter and amateur cyber-sleuth Tess is obsessed with the cold cases of missing girls in Washington State. As she works to settle her father's estate, she's shaken to her core when she uncovers evidence pointing to his involvement. FBI SPECIAL AGENT MICHAEL CARTEROn leave after solving a particularly heartbreaking case of child abduction and murder for the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force, Michael is back in Paradise Hill to recover and visit with family. Despite doctor's orders to stay clear of police work, Michael's drawn back in when Tess asks for his help understanding the secrets found in her father's attic.A RUTHLESS CHILD KILLER Having escaped justice for decades, he's bored and deliberately stirs the pot, revealing one of the dead girl's bodies. Despite hiding in plain sight, no one suspects that he's really a wolf and not the sheep he pretends to be. He sees Tess and Michael's involvement in the case as a challenge and views Tess as a temptation he can't resist.AN EIGHTEEN-YEAR OLD COLD CASEFor Tess and Michael, the cases are personal: Tess's best friend in public school, Lisa Tate, was one of the missing girls from Paradise Hill. Michael was babysitting the night little Lisa vanished. The guilt they harbor over their role in her disappearance drives them both. Desperate for answers, Tess and Michael join forces to track a killer and uncover the secrets Tess finds in her father's attic. Will the answers bring Tess peace or shatter her?THE GIRL FROM PARADISE HILL is the first book in the McClintock-Carter Crime Thriller Series.

Hiding in Plain Sight


Mary Ellis - 2018
    Meanwhile, her new landlord, Eric, struggles with a competitor bent on ruining his restaurant. But when petty crime turns lethal, Eric's father is arrested for murder and Kate is determined to prove his innocence.