Book picks similar to
Murder on the Marsh by Anne Penketh
mystery
crime
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The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Stuart Turton - 2018
Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.For fans of Claire North, and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man's race against time to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.This inventive debut twists together a thriller of such unexpected creativity it will leave readers guessing until the very last page.
The Girls In The Water
Victoria Jenkins - 2017
She couldn’t move. She was going to die and she had no idea why...Early one icy winter morning, Detective Alex King is called to a murder scene at a local park. The river is running high, and in the water lies the body of a woman, her wrists tied, and all her fingernails missing.The victim, beautiful, young Lola Evans, had a troubled past, but Alex’s team can’t find a reason why anyone would want to kill her. The pressure to solve the case keeps mounting, but all their leads run dry. Then, another body is found in the water.A disturbing clue suggests how the girls are connected. But who would target such vulnerable girls, and does this mean another life is at risk? Just when Alex thinks she has cracked the case, she realises one of her own team is in terrible danger.Alex is caught in a race against time to reach the next victim before it’s too late... and some of her team must face terrifying truths from their own lives if they’re to have a chance of catching the killer.
Splinter in the Blood
Ashley Dyer - 2018
His trusted partner, Ruth Lake, is alone with him. Yet instead of calling for help, she’s rearranged the crime scene and wiped the room clean of prints.But Carver isn’t dead.Awakening in the hospital, Carver has no memory of being shot, but is certain that his assailant is the Thorn Killer. Though there’s no evidence to support his claim, Carver insists the attack is retaliation, an attempt to scare the detective off the psychopath’s scent, because he’s getting too close. Trapped in a hospital bed and still very weak, Carver’s obsession grows. He’s desperate to get back to work and finally nail the bastard, before more innocent blood is spilled.One person knows the truth and she’s not telling. She’s also now leading the Thorn Killer investigation while Carver recuperates. It doesn’t matter that Carver and the rest of the force are counting on her, and that more victims’ lives at stake. Ruth is keeping a deadly secret, and she’ll cross every line—sacrificing her colleagues, her career, and maybe even her own life—to keep it from surfacing.Utterly engrossing and filled with masterfully crafted surprises, Splinter in the Blood is a propulsive roller-coaster ride, filled with deception, nerve-jangling tension, perplexing mystery, and cold-blooded murder.
Rollover
James Raven - 2012
. . THEN GETS MURDERED, AND YOU’RE THE NUMBER ONE SUSPECT. Saturday night at Danny Cain’s home. As their daughter sleeps upstairs, Danny and his wife watch the national lottery draw. This week a massive rollover jackpot. Within minutes, Vince, Danny’s best friend and business partner, calls and claims that he’s won the jackpot. A TAUT CRIME THRILLER THAT WILL HAVE YOU GRIPPED FROM THE FIRST PAGE. Vince tells Danny to drop everything and come over to his cottage in the New Forest. But when Danny gets there he finds his friend has been murdered. His winning lottery ticket has gone. Before Danny can alert the police he receives a call from the killer who claims he’s kidnapped Danny’s wife and daughter. The man warns him not to tell anyone about the ticket. Danny is plunged into a terrible nightmare. He’s faced with a desperate race against time to save his family. CAN DETECTIVE JEFF TEMPLE FIND THE REAL KILLER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE? DCI Jeff Temple heads up Hampshire's Major Investigations Team based in Southampton. He's a no-nonsense copper who relishes the challenges presented by the most brutal and high-profile cases. But at the same time he's still struggling to get his personal life back on track following the tragic death of his beloved wife. Things are looking up, but it's an uphill struggle. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ROLLOVER “Very addictive and couldn't put this book down!” Lucy “The plot is pacy and compelling – the essence of the polished ‘unputdownable’ novel/” View Magazine. “Extremely satisfying thriller and great entertainment.” Books Monthly Review. “The pages kept turning faster and faster.” Ginny “One of the best books I have ever read. I found it thrilling and exciting right from the first page.” Michael THE BEST-SELLING DETECTIVE JEFF TEMPLE SERIES Book 1: ROLLOVER Book 2: URBAN MYTH Book 3: RANDOM TARGET Book 4: DYING WISH Book 5: THE BLOGGER Join the Joffe Books mailing list for updates on the next mystery coming soon!
Bad to the Bone
Tony J. Forder - 2017
Republished with minor edits in February 2022.When two retired police officers are murdered shortly after human remains are discovered in woodland, a connection between the three events leads to an investigation unlike any the city of Peterborough has seen before.As DI Jimmy Bliss and his Major Crimes team delve deeper into the murders, evidence points towards the involvement of other officers. And when he and his colleagues receive targeted warnings, Bliss has to decide whether those responsible might be too powerful and too dangerous to pursue.Will Bliss walk away in order to keep his career intact, or will he fight no matter what the cost? And is the killer closer to home than any of them could have imagined?
Cut Short
Leigh Russell - 2009
In the shadows a predator watches... and waits... then chooses his first victim. But someone has seen the killer and comes forward as a witness - someone the killer must stop at all costs. For DI Geraldine Steel it is a race against time to find the killer as two more bodies are discovered. A gripping psychological thriller introducing DI Geraldine Steel, a woman whose past is threatening to collide with her future.
Until You're Mine
Samantha Hayes - 2013
You're vulnerable. And you have something that someone else wants. At any cost... Claudia Morgan-Brown finally has it all. Pregnant with a much-wanted first baby of her own, she has a happily established family of two small step-sons and a loving husband with a great career. But she is also committed to her full-time job as a social worker, and her husband travels often. So when Claudia hires Zoe to help her around the house in anticipation of the baby’s arrival, it seems like the answer to her prayers. But despite Zoe's glowing recommendations and instant rapport with the children, there's something about her that Claudia cannot trust. Moreover, there has been a series of violent attacks on pregnant women in the area, and Claudia becomes acutely aware of her vulnerability. With her husband out of town for work and her family far away, who will be there to protect her? And why does she feel unsettled about Zoe? Realizing appearances can be deceiving even in her seemingly perfect world, Claudia digs deeper into Zoe’s blurry past and begins to wonder – how far would someone go to have a child of her own? Riveting from its very first pages, Until You’re Mine is a multilayered masterwork of twisted, psychological suspense. Readers of Before I Go to Sleep and Turn of Mind will be enthralled by this multilayered novel, featuring a twisted plot that ends in a breathtaking and shocking finale.
The Night Ferry
Michael Robotham - 2007
Now on her feet again she receives a desperate plea from an old school friend, who is eight months pregnant and in trouble. On the night they arrange to meet, her friend is run down and killed by a car and Alisha discovers the first in a series of haunting and tragic deceptions.Determined to uncover the truth, she embarks upon a dangerous journey that will take her from the East End of London’s to Amsterdam’s murky red light district and into a violent underworld of sex trafficking, slavery and exploitation.
What Lies Beneath
Adam Croft - 2020
DI Caroline Hills is certain there’s a religious connection — one which threatens the tranquility of life in the area.The killer has gone to extraordinary lengths to make the symbolism clear. And the deaths will continue until Caroline and DS Dexter Antoine uncover the truth behind the dark secret — and what lies beneath.
Perfect Remains
Helen Sarah Fields - 2017
All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness…Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.Fans of Angela Marson, Mark Billingham and M. J. Aldridge will be gripped by this chilling journey into the mind of a troubled killer.
Someone Else's Skin
Sarah Hilary - 2014
Five years ago, her family home was the scene of a shocking and bloody crime that left her parents dead and her foster brother in prison. Marnie doesn’t talk much about her personal life, preferring to focus on work. Not even her partner, DS Noah Jake, knows much about Marnie’s past. Though as one of the few gay officers on the force and half Jamaican to boot, Noah’s not one to overshare about his private life either. Now Marnie and Noah are tackling a case of domestic violence, and a different brand of victim.Hope Proctor stabbed her husband in desperate self-defense. A crowd of witnesses in the domestic violence shelter where she’s staying saw it happen, but none of them are telling quite the same story, and the simple question remains: how did Leo Proctor get in to the secure shelter? Marnie and Noah shouldn’t even have been there when it happened but they were interviewing another resident, Ayana Mirza. They’re trying to get Ayana to testify against her brothers for pouring bleach on her face for bringing dishonor to the family, and blinding her in one eye. But Ayana knows that her brothers are looking for her, and she has no doubt that they’ll kill her this time.As the violence spirals, engulfing the residents of the women's shelter, Marnie finds herself drawn into familiar territory: A place where the past casts long shadows and she must tread carefully to survive.
Nineteen Seventy Four
David Peace - 1999
Crime correspondent for the Evening Post. He didn't know it was going to be a season in hell. A dead little girl with a swan's wings stitched to her back. A gypsy camp in a ring of fire. Corruption everywhere you look.In Nineteen Seventy Four, David Peace brings passion and stylistic bravado to this terrifyingly intense journey into a secret history of sexual obsession, greed and sadism.
The Body in the Dales
J.R. Ellis - 2017
An impossible crime. A murderer on the loose.A body is discovered deep in a cave beneath the Yorkshire Dales. Leading the investigation into the mysterious death are experienced DCI Jim Oldroyd and his partner DS Carter, a newcomer from London.The deceased is Dave Atkins, well known throughout the village but not well liked. While there is no shortage of suspects, the details of the crime leave Oldroyd and Carter stumped. How did Atkins’s body end up in such a remote section of the cave? When someone with vital information turns up dead, it becomes clear that whoever is behind the murders will stop at nothing to conceal their tracks.Oldroyd and his team try to uncover the truth, but every answer unearths a new set of questions. And as secrets and lies are exposed within the close-knit community, the mystery becomes deeper, darker and more complex than the caves below.
Revised edition: Previously published as The Body in Jingling Pot, this edition of The Body in the Dales includes editorial revisions.
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…
Bodily Harm
Charlie Gallagher - 2017
She happens to be the mayor’s niece. It’s the final straw for the community. The police are desperate to get results and decide on a risky course of action involving undercover infiltration of the notorious Effingell Estate. Detective George Elms knows this hellish place extremely well, and his sharp investigative mind is put to work to solve the crime. The police are under immense media pressure and conveniently a local lowlife confesses to the attack. But George is not convinced. There are many layers of criminal and police motivation, and few people are what they seem. Who can you trust? And when his family is put at risk will DS George Elms go beyond the law? BODILY HARM is book one of a new series of detective thrillers.