Brass in Pocket


Stephen Puleston - 2013
    Inspector Drake is called to the scene and quickly discovers a message left by the killer - traffic cones in the shape of a No 4.The killer starts sending the Wales Police Service lyrics from famous rock songs. Are they messages or is there some hidden meaning in them?Does it all mean more killings are likely? When a politician is killed Drake has his answer. And then the killer sends more song lyrics. Now Drake has to face the possibility of more deaths but with numbers dominating the case Drake has to face his own rituals and obsessions.Finally when the killer threatens Drake and his family he faces his greatest challenge in finding the killer before he strikes again.

Murder on the Marsh


Anne Penketh - 2016
    HIS HEART HAS BEEN CUT OUT . . .DI Sam Clayton has never dealt with such an extreme crime in the quiet Norfolk villages that are part of his patch. When a waitress, Emma Dawson, disappears, it looks like the police might have a serial killer on their hands. Emma seems to have been part of cultish group obsessed with contacting the dead via a medieval mystic. But a mysterious Frenchman and one of the local nature wardens are also suspects. The mystery is further complicated by the locals’ reluctance to share their secrets with the police. DI Clayton’s team also harbour some tragic secrets and it looks like only one of his detectives will be kept on, even if they do catch the vicious killer.When another child disappears, DI Clayton faces a race against time to prevent any further crimes. Not only that, but he must confront local superstitions and keep his team under control as violence threatens to spiral out of control.MURDER ON THE MARSH is the first in a new series of page-turning crime thrillers set in an atmospheric part of Norfolk. Perfect for fans of LJ Ross, Mel Sherratt, Angela Marsons, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.THE TEAMDetective Inspector Sam Clayton leads the investigation into the North Norfolk murders, joined the police straight from school as a beat bobby in Manchester before rising through the ranks of the CID. He was transferred to Norwich after being promoted to DI following a high-profile case investigated by Lancashire Constabulary. He struggles with anger issues and finds solace in playing classical guitar. He lives in hope of a reconciliation with his ex-wife, Claire.Detective Sergeant Neil Pringle lives with his third wife in Norwich, where he was born. But taking care of his two sons with his wife Megan, and two other children with previous wives, has put his finances under strain. He never misses a chance to shine in hopes of securing promotion, and can’t help showing off his local knowledge to colleagues.Detective Sergeant Julie Everett is an intuitive officer who was promoted to detective sergeant from her home town of Ipswich where she had a background in child protection. She is discreet about her personal life among colleagues, particularly about the tragedy which haunts her, but is stressed out because of her work-life balance. She has to deal with a high-pressure job while raising a six-year-old child who moved with her to Norwich.THE SETTINGThe mists sweep across the Glaveny marsh and its muddy channels on the North Norfolk coast, where the reeds rustle and the waist-high grasses whisper in the wind. It is a place, frequented by dog walkers and birdwatchers, where myth and reality collide. Locals talk about a hell hound that roams the marsh in the mist, bringing death in its wake. A medieval mystic who wrote about sin, Mother Julian of Norwich, may have had a connection to the villages dotted with fishermen’s flint cottages. Standing beside the majestic white sails of the windmill in the neighbouring village of Pelham on a clear day you can look over the marsh towards the seal colony on Glaveny Point. As you approach them you can hear the seals and their pups moaning on the shingle. The sound is almost human, like a mermaid’s siren call. When the mist rolls in, it is blindingly thick in minutes. When it retreats, who knows what will be left behind?

A Lover Too Many


Roy Lewis - 1969
    Enjoy a beautifully told story from a time before smart phones and DNA testing. Full of twists and turns, this will have you gripped from start to finish. “Builds up to a good climax and keeps you reading.” The Observer “If you have never had the pleasure of reading a mystery by Roy Lewis, you are in for a huge treat. Do yourself a favor and pick up “A Lover Too Many,” and any subsequent books by Roy Lewis. You might find other writers as good, but you will not find anyone better.” Barbara Bernstein Peter Marlin’s wife is found strangled and he becomes the prime suspect. She’d only just returned from an unexplained absence of several months. And during that time, Peter had found a new lover. Everything points to the husband but there’s no real proof. Inspector John Crow is called in to help the local police. But his new colleagues aren’t keen on an outsider. And Crow must solve the case before anyone else dies. This fast-paced mystery will have you enthralled from the start. Set in England in the late 1960s, this is the first book to feature Inspector John Crow. More coming soon. DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE MYSTERY WRITER Perfect for fans of Peter James, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James and Peter Robinson. Roy Lewis is one of the most critically acclaimed crime writers of his generation. PRAISE FOR ROY LEWIS MYSTERIES “Each Lewis seems to better the last. Here is an intriguing puzzle and likely police work and a fine picture of Northumbrian society and countryside” The Times “Roy Lewis has demonstrated an enviable range both in geography and style…a nice neat story” The Financial Times “Lots of cunning complications embracing conservation and financial fiddles” The Guardian “A thorough, unpretentious and immensely solid piece of work with an interesting and likeable hero” Times Literary Supplement “Tightly written, well paced and relentlessly accurate” Oxford Times “Chilly drama with some stirring cliff hanger” Sunday Telegraph THE DETECTIVE Skeletally-built, mild-mannered Inspector John Crow is established in the Murder Squad in London and constantly meets hostility when he is called upon to work on murder cases in regional crime squads in Wales and the Midlands. He displays strong moral feelings, and a sensitivity which brings him into conflict with regional staff as he doggedly and successfully pursues the truth in cases where he is called in.

The Lost


Claire McGowan - 2013
    Swirling with rumour and secrets, the town is gripped by fear of a serial killer. But the truth could be even darker.Not everyone who's lost wants to be found...Surrounded by people and places she tried to forget, Paula digs into the cases as the truth twists further away. What's the link with two other disappearances from 1985? And why does everything lead back to the town's dark past- including the reasons her own mother went missing years before?Nothing is what it seems...As the shocking truth is revealed, Paula learns that sometimes, it's better not to find what you've lost.

Bitter Fruits


Alice Clark-Platts - 2015
    Detective Inspector Erica Martin's first case in the university city of Durham is Emily Brabents, a first-year student, who is found dead in the river.DI Martin visits Joyce College, a cradle for the country's future elite, and finds a close-knit community full of secrets, jealousy and obsession.Her search reveals a vicious online trolling culture but could Emily, from the privileged and popular crowd, have been a victim? Should the sudden confession to the murder by the student president be believed? And just who is the mysterious Daniel Shepherd whose name keeps appearing in the investigation...?

Relative Malice


Marla Madison - 2013
    In the murder house, she discovers an empty crib with blood drops next to it on the wood floor. The family: a father, mother, teenage daughter, and young son have been fatally shot . . . but where is baby Philly?The desperate search to find the child derails when a man is arrested for murdering the family and claims to have killed the baby. Suspecting he had an accomplice, Kendall isn’t convinced. Refusing to give up on finding the child, Kendall persists in unearthing the family’s secrets. With the help of a hacker turned spurious fortune-teller and a former cop hired by the missing baby’s uncle, she discovers a furtive pedophile ring is planning on buying and sharing a baby. Can she stop them while there's time to save Philly?

Black Dog


Stephen Booth - 2000
    And when her body is found in the woods, Cooper's investigation begins with a short list of markedly uncooperative suspects: retired miner Harry Dickinson, whose black Labrador discovered Laura's body, and Laura's wealthy parents. Uneasily teamed with ambitious newcomer Detective Constable Diane Fry, Cooper tests a town's family ties, friendships, and loyaties -- and finds that in order to understand the present, they must unearth the past.

Easy Innocence


Libby Fischer Hellmann - 2008
    But Georgia Davis -- former cop and newly-minted PI -- is hired to look into the incident at the behest of the accused's sister, and what she finds hints at a much different, much darker answer. It seems the privileged, preppy schoolgirls on Chicago's North Shore have learned just how much their innocence is worth to hot-under-the-collar businessmen. But while these girls can pay for Prada pricetags, they don't realize that their new business venture may end up costing them more than they can afford

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 Body in the Village Hall


Dee MacDonald - 2020
    Moving into picturesque Lavender Cottage with her sister Angie, the little village of Lower Tinworthy should be the perfect place for their fresh new start. But within weeks of their arrival, there’s a death in the close-knit community…A woman is found dead in the village hall, with her own kitchen knife next to the body, covered in blood. Kate, a practice nurse at the local medical centre, begins to piece together the clues. Fenella was at the centre of village activity, and there seem to be plenty of people who had reason to dislike her. But did any of them hate her enough to kill her?As Kate gets drawn into life in Lower Tinworthy, she begins a close friendship with Detective Inspector ‘Woody’ Forrest, who is near to retiring – and determined to crack his last case. Together, they set about solving the mysterious crime.But when someone breaks into Kate’s home and leaves a warning note on her pillow, it becomes clear the murderer is prepared to do anything to keep their identity hidden... Will Kate work out who’s responsible, before she becomes the next victim?

As The Crow Flies


Damien Boyd - 2013
    Killed in a fall whilst practising a new route on High Rock, Cheddar Gorge. Convinced that Jake would not have made such a simple mistake, Nick Dixon starts digging and uncovers a web of intrigue and criminal activity that will rock the sleepy seaside town of Burnham-on-Sea to its core.As the body count rises, Dixon is forced to break every rule in the book and put his own life on the line to bring the killer out into the open.A fast paced crime thriller that will leave you gasping for breath, As The Crow Flies is a spine tingling introduction for DI Nick Dixon and a spectacular debut novel from crime fiction writer, Damien Boyd.

Only the Innocent


Rachel Abbott - 2011
    But when the billionaire philanthropist is discovered murdered in his London home, tied naked to a bed, the scandal is only a shadow of the darkness lurking off-camera.Laura Fletcher returns from an Italian vacation to find her husband dead and her home under siege by paparazzi. Is she shocked? Yes. But is she distraught? Not exactly. Especially when Chief Inspector Tom Douglas reveals his suspicions that Hugo’s killer is female. Laura always knew she wasn’t the only woman in Hugo’s life. And she knows she wasn’t the only one with a motive to kill.The deeper Douglas digs, the more sordid details about Hugo Fletcher he uncovers. And yet nothing compares to the secret Laura guards, a secret that could bring the guilty to justice—or destroy an innocent life forever.

Crossbones Yard


Kate Rhodes - 2012
    One of the highlights of her day is going for a nice, long run around her beloved London—it's impossible to fret or feel guilty about your mother or brother when you're concentrating on your breathing—until she stumbles upon a dead body at a former graveyard for prostitutes, Crossbones Yard.The dead woman's wounds are alarmingly similar to the signature style of Ray and Marie Benson, who tortured and killed thirteen women before they were caught and sent to jail. Five of their victims were never found. That was six years ago, and the last thing Alice wants to do is to enter the sordid world of the Bensons or anyone like them. But when the police ask for her help in building a psychological profile of the new murderer, she finds that the killer—and the danger to her and the people she cares about—may already be closer than she ever imagined.With gripping suspense and a terrific new heroine, Kate Rhodes's Crossbones Yard introduces a powerful new voice in crime fiction.

The Eye Thief


M.K. Farrar - 2020
    Blind. With holes in their head where their eyes used to be.DI Erica Swift is caught between the stresses of trying to take care of a young family, a father with dementia, and a demanding job. Working for the Violent Crimes Task Force, she does her best not to let her work life encroach on her family, but it’s not always easy.The case the papers have dubbed ‘The Eye Thief’ is a welcome distraction, though London’s residents are fearful of who will be next.When one of the victims dies, turning it into a murder case, Erica and her team find themselves on the trail of a killer.But a chance encounter drags a horrific event in Erica’s past to collide with her present.The killer has one thing on their mind…Revenge.

Glass Dolls


D.E. White - 2020
    Detective Dove Milson is called out to the chilling crime scene by the Devon coast. The murder is a replica of the work of serial killer Peter Hayworth, known as the Glass Doll murderer. He would be the prime suspect . . . but he’s already dead.FOUR YEARS AGO DETECTIVE DOVE MILSON’S NIECE WAS KILLED BY THE GLASS DOLL MURDERERNow Dove leads the case. It’s her first job as part of the Major Crimes Team. She is recovering from a breakdown a few months earlier.Then another Glass Doll is found in an isolated cove.A TWISTED COPYCAT KILLER?Dove finds her family is at the heart of this new case. The latest Glass Doll victims both worked at her sister Gaia’s strip club. The club’s manager found the second Glass Doll. He claims to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but Dove doesn’t believe in coincidences.THEN DOVE’S SURVIVING NIECE DISAPPEARSWill she become the next Glass Doll? Time is running out for her niece. Dove must race to catch a killer before it’s too late. Then a new lead tears a hole in the case.Discover a brand new thriller with a jaw-dropping twist you won’t see coming.Perfect for fans of Cara Hunter, K.L. Slater, Robert Bryndza, Helen Fields and Angela Marsons.