The Hope That Kills


Ed James - 2016
    No ID on her, just hard-earned cash. But there is no doubting the ferocity of the attack.DI Simon Fenchurch takes charge but, as his team tries to identify her and piece together her murder, they’re faced with cruel indifference at every turn - nobody cares about yet another dead prostitute. To Fenchurch, however, she could just as easily be Chloe, his daughter still missing after ten years, whose memory still haunts his days and nights, his burning obsession having killed his marriage.When a second body is discovered, Fenchurch must peel back the grimy layers shrouding the London sex trade, confronting his own traumatic past while racing to undo a scheme larger, more complex and more evil than anything he could possibly have imagined.

Murder is a Tricky Business


Phillip Strang - 2016
     Why has he been taken away from more important crimes to search for the woman? It’s not the first time she’s gone missing, and why does everyone assume she’s been murdered? There’s a secret, that much is certain, but who knows? The missing woman? The executive producer, his eavesdropping assistant? Or the actor who portrayed her fictional brother on the Soap Opera?

Tic Tac Toe


Emmy Ellis - 2020
    Noughts and crosses should be innocent enough, but the American title brings a sinister slant… The state of the bodies is nothing but macabre, sickening. What do the clues mean? Forehead carvings. Drawing pins. A body part snipped off. The game grid has nine boxes for nine bodies, but someone else ruins Zac’s plan, meaning he has a spare box to fill. Who does he choose? And can Bethany ever get over the discovery of that victim? With some corpses discovered en masse, it might be time to call in DI Tracy Collier from Serious Crimes but, as usual, Bethany is determined her team will solve this, and she’ll do everything she can to make it happen.

In the Shadows


Tara Lyons - 2016
    As the suspect list mounts, his frustration and pressure from his superiors intensify. Grace Murphy, who is dealing with the recent loss of her beloved grandfather, falls deeper into despair when her friends' bodies are discovered. Fearing she may be the killer's next target, she begins to question if her horrifying nightmares are the key to unravelling the murderer's identity. How far would you go to uncover the truth? Would you venture into the shadows to unmask a killer?

The Complete Inspector Crow Mystery #1-8


Roy Lewis - 2020
    She’d only just returned from an unexplained absence of months. Peter had already taken a new lover, but there’s no real proof he killed his wife. Can Inspector John Crow solve the case before anyone else dies?BOOK 2: ERROR OF JUDGMENTA young woman is found dead in college amid a student protest. It turns out she was the principal’s secretary and there was more to her than meets the eye. Who wanted her dead and why? And what does it have to do with the student revolt led by a charismatic firebrand from Iraq?BOOK 3: THE WOODS MURDERSchoolgirl Jenny Carson is brutally murdered in Kenton Wood. Then Charles Lendon is found skewered through the heart. He was a ruthless lawyer and a shameless womaniser. Jenny’s father blames him for her murder.BOOK 4: MURDER FOR MONEYGossip-mongering journalist Charlie Rutland is found brutally slain. In his line of work, he wasn’t short of enemies. DI Crow must interrogate a long list of suspects, from a homeless Yorkshireman to an ex-Gestapo officer. Then British spy services get involved. Can Crow crack the case before it’s taken out of his hands?BOOK 5: MURDER IN THE MINEA hunt for a missing dog leads to a gruesome discovery down a Welsh mineshaft. Not just the injured dog, but a valuable piece of jewellery and the decaying corpse of a woman. A surprising confession follows. But Inspector Crow is not convinced he has his man. Can he uncover the true killer, despite the many perplexing questions surrounding the case?BOOK 6: A COTSWOLDS MURDERCaravan park manager Chuck Lindop is found with his head caved in. The locals insist he was a lovable rogue. So who wanted him dead and why? As the investigation wears on, Inspector Crow uncovers shady dealings at the caravan park. Could Chuck himself have been involved?BOOK 7: A FOX HUNTING MURDEROne crisp autumn morning, the hunt is in full swing. But instead of a fox, they find their notorious opponent: dead in a bush. Inspector Crow uncovers a side to the victim that no one has seen before. But can he trust his instincts in a case where nothing is what it seems?BOOK 8: A DARTMOOR MURDERFred Norman is found dead in a pond near the mine where he worked. DI Crow is called in to investigate and finds a community divided. Many local activists oppose the mine. Suspicion soon falls on their womanizing leader, but Crow is aware that are many false trails and too many lies. Then he learns a secret about the victim that changes everything.

Cruel Justice


M.A. Comley - 2011
    Detective Inspector Lorne Simpkins and her partner, DS Pete Childs are assigned to the case. A few days later another victim, this time a young girl, is discovered. Who could the killer be and what's the connection between the two victims?Then after a third murder, the killer contacts Lorne with a grisly surprise. It looks like Lorne has a serial killer on her hands - and one that has become fixated on her. As she tries to solve the crimes, Lorne is also coping with a failing marriage and new, unsympathetic boss with whom she has a secret past. Then, as she begins to despair at the lack of clues, help arrives from an unlikely source.

Watch Her Die


Deborah Lucy - 2018
     Please note this book was originally published as “Death Watch.” HE WATCHED HER DIE Who murdered Greta Ashton-Jones? This beautiful married woman is found naked, strangled and tied to her bed. Who’s been watching her and taking pictures of her? Who needed to kill her — and why? Detective Inspector Temple investigates. It’s not the straightforward ‘domestic murder’ he’s been told. Written off by a boss who’s relegated him to the back office, he knows he has to find her killer and fast, but he soon has trouble of his own. DISCOVER A MURDER MYSTERY YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT DOWN TILL THE STUNNING CONCLUSION He’s on the wrong side of the law trying to protect himself and his family when a dangerous criminal with a vendetta is released from prison. As things go wrong, losing his job is the least of his problems. Temple uncovers a tangled web of deceit, betrayal and blackmail which leads him to a depraved undercover world. CAN DETECTIVE TEMPLE CATCH THE KILLER BEFORE HIS OWN LIFE FALLS APART? Perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers, Damien Boyd, Rachel Abbott, Patricia Gibney or Mark Billingham. What readers are saying about WATCH HER DIE “Could not put it down.” SP “Well written and plotted, an excellent and complex crime novel.” MP ‘Loved this book, gripping story, kept me guessing till the end.’ DW “Compulsive read!” GC THE DETECTIVE As a small boy, DI Temple found his mother dead. She had been brutally murdered, with the crime unresolved. Temple is a man on a mission to find her killer, it’s why he joined the police. With the past throwing a long shadow over his life, as a detective, this makes him even more determined to seek justice for other victims as he hunts their killers. His personal quest makes him difficult to live with and difficult to work with and his relationships suffer. But he’ll stop at nothing to protect his family, even though they are estranged and if it means breaking the law. THE SETTING The DI Temple novels are set in Wiltshire, a largely rural county. Its landscape of beautiful rolling hills, downs and valleys gives no immunity to the crime that infects its scattered towns and villages. Steeped in ancient history, the tourist guides make no mention of the organised crime groups, the murders and turf wars, or the drugs that saturate the streets, lanes and school playgrounds. The M4 artery across the top of the county pumps its poison from London and Bristol, linking east and west coasts, providing criminal gangs and networks with an easy route to ply their deadly trade. THE AUTHOR Deborah Lucy worked for 25 years in Wiltshire Police, alongside a number of senior investigating officers as they investigated major crimes, including murders, missing persons, abduction and kidnaps. For three years she worked in the missing adults and children arena, with police, government policy advisers and charities. Latterly, she conducted lifestyle inquiries for international blue chip companies into the lives of billionaires, millionaires and politically exposed people around the world.

Harm None


Will North - 2014
    When an American archaeological team stumbles upon the skeletal remains of a missing child beneath a Stone Age burial quoit, irascible CID Detective Sergeant Morgan Davies and her Scene of Crimes partner, Calum West, unearth a growing list of suspects. Within days, another body is discovered. Is the killer the mind-reading village witch—who has long been a suspect in the child’s disappearance? Is it the drug-dealing partner of the child’s heroin-addicted mother? Or is it someone even closer to the investigation? Just as Davies and West close in on their prime suspect, another child disappears.

Now You See Me


Sharon J. Bolton - 2011
    Within twenty-four hours a reporter receives an anonymous letter that points out alarming similarities between the murder and Jack the Ripper’s first murder—a letter that calls out Lacey by name. If it’s real, and they have a killer bent on re-creating London’s bloody past, history shows they have just five days until the next attempt.No one believes the connections are anything more than a sadistic killer’s game, not even Lacey, whom the killer seems to be taunting specifically. However, as they investigate the details of the case start reminding her more and more of a part of her past she’d rather keep hidden. And the only way to do that is to catch the killer herself.

On Laughton Moor


Lisa Hartley - 2015
    How he'll adapt to life in Lincolnshire after years in the Met is anyone's guess. When the body of a well known local thug is discovered, an intriguing message found on his battered corpse raises unwelcome questions. Is DS Bishop herself being accused of the grisly murder, or does the message point to a more sinister secret? As the body count grows higher, Bishop and Knight find themselves in a race against time to discover the identity of a merciless, faceless killer whose motivation is a mystery.

The Complete Detective Kate Hamblin Mystery Series


David Hodges - 2020
    YOU GET *SEVEN* BREATH-TAKING CRIME THRILLERS, FROM THE PEN OF A FORMER POLICEMAN.IN THIS SEVEN-BOOK BOX SET:BOOK 1: MURDER ON THE LEVELSDetective Kate Hamblin is doing surveillance on the Somerset Levels, on the trail of a crazed arsonist. She leaves the van for a moment. Then it goes up in flames, killing her colleagues. Kate is accused of abandoning them. There’s nothing she won’t risk to clear her name. But can she nail the killer before he takes out the only witness?BOOK 2: REVENGE ON THE LEVELSTwo years ago Larry “Twister” Wadman vanished without a trace. Kate Hamblin is the sole survivor of his murderous rampage. Then a prostitute dressed as a policewoman is found brutally slain, and Kate realizes her old enemy is back. Can she catch him before he has his revenge?BOOK 3: FEAR ON THE LEVELSA teenage girl last seen leaving a party at the height of a local scarecrow festival is found strangled and stripped in her own barn. The crime is an exact copy of the murder of peasant girl, Martha Tinney. But Martha died 150 years ago at the hands of a spectral scarecrow named Strawfoot. Or so legend has it. Can Kate track down the flesh-and-blood copycat before he adds to his kill list?BOOK 4: KILLER ON THE LEVELSJournalist Ellie Landy is found drowned in the River Parrett. The only clue: a cryptic line about “Sandman” jotted in a paperback by her bed. Everyone assumes her death was an accident. And then the Sandman strikes again. Can Kate unmask the killer before he puts anyone else to sleep?BOOK 5: SECRETS ON THE LEVELSDetective Kate finds herself staring down the wrong end of a shotgun out on the lonely marshes. She’s hunting escaped con Lenny Stallard. He should be serving time for a botched burglary that ended in murder. Revenge appears to be the motive. But it’s all a bit too convenient for Kate. Can she uncover the truth before her own number is up?BOOK 6: DEATH ON THE LEVELSA man writes to the police station, threatening to kill his aunts. No one takes him seriously — until an elderly woman is found strangled in her home. “RIP Auntie” is written on the floor in red lipstick. As the body count rises, Kate realizes she is up against a deadly foe. Can she stay one step ahead? If not, whose aunt will be next on the kill list?BOOK 7: POISON ON THE LEVELSA young woman snatched from a festival. A poison pen letter writer driving people to take their own lives. Kate has her work cut out solving the two cases. Probing deeper, she finds herself caught up in a dark, complicated web of deceit, wagging tongues and false trails. Then she realizes she’s being watched. By a shady figure who knows her every move. Can she find the missing girl in time to save both their lives?

Girl Jacked


Christopher Greyson - 2013
    They were old friends. He knew only one way to deal with pain. Hunt it down and kill it." Police Officer Jack Stratton is hiding. Hiding from the world. From pain. From the memories of losing his best friend, Chandler, in Iraq. Suffering from PTSD and isolated from those he cares about, the last thing Jack expects to hear is his foster sister Michelle, Chandler’s sister, is gone. The words cut straight to his core. Although the police think she just took off, he knows Michelle would never leave those she loved behind–like he did. Now he must take action, find Michelle, and bring her home or die trying. The first novel in the Jack Stratton Collection introduces us to handsome rogue, Jack Stratton. A debt of honor to his dead foster brother drives Jack into a world of deception and lies. As Jack’s walls begin to crumble, he must navigate the quirky characters that seep into the mystery of his foster sister’s disappearance. And in the sleepy community of Darrington, like so many places in this world, nothing is as it appears. The hidden mysteries that often go unnoticed begin to emerge as Jack and his new unpredictable sidekick begin to turn over the rocks. Following a trail that has grown cold, Jack must tread carefully to protect his job, his family, and his life. This stand-alone novel features rogue hero Jack Stratton. Look for other books in the Jack Stratton Collection including Jack Knifed, Jacks are Wild, and now Jack and the Giant Killer. They can be read in any order, however, they are best experienced in sequence.

Beware the Past


Joy Ellis - 2017
    Now many years later, the killer seems to be back. And this time he's after Matt. When Matt Ballard was starting out his career, three boys were murdered in the same area, the remote and bleak Gibbet Fen. When the main suspect was killed in a hit-and-run, the killings stopped. But Matt was not satisfied that the real murderer had been caught. Over twenty-five years later, Matt gets a photo in an unmarked envelope. It's of the Gibbet Fen crime scene. And the picture was taken before the murder took place. More photos arrive, relating to the historic murders, as well as intimate pictures of Matt's very secret private life. Then another murder happens, with some of the hallmarks of the old case. Has the killer returned, or is this just a sick copycat determined to ruin Matt's life and reputation?

One Last Lesson


Iain Cameron - 2014
    She is a student at a local university. She was a model on a pornographic web site, owned by two of her lecturers. Jon Lehman is the victim’s Business Studies lecturer. He is fond of booze and bedding female students. DI Angus Henderson brings him in for questioning - with tragic consequences for him. Dominic Green is a local gangster. He is a fellow investor in the porn web site. He moves to protect his investment - with painful consequences for his enemies. DI Henderson believes the web site is key to unlocking this case. He digs deeper and deeper until…he is confronted by two vicious animals - but only one of them is human.

Sticks and Stones


John Carson - 2019
     Fifteen years ago, a man brutally murdered his wife, before taking his own life. Now, DCI Harry McNeil is heading up a Major Investigation Team and he is called to a small town in the Scottish Highlands. A bride has gone missing from the hotel on her wedding night, and despite a search, there is no sign of her. McNeil and his team are there to back-up a local MIT along with a team from Glasgow. The bride and groom are from very powerful families from the east and west coasts, and the police need to be seen to be doing something. While hunting for the bride, somebody turns up dead, murdered in a similar way to the woman from fifteen years ago. McNeil and the others are pressured into getting a quick result, but how do you catch a killer who is one step ahead and watching your every move? It is going to take all they have to bring him to justice. Until then, he's going to keep on killing... Sticks and Stones is the first novel in a new series featuring DCI Harry McNeil.