British Detective

Hallowe'en is coming... A series of mysterious murders dating back decades presents Kit Aston with his greatest challenge yet in this macabre tale. The latest victim is found by a medium, the mysterious Eva Kerr. Kit Aston discovers this murder is the tip of the iceberg. Is it a killer like Jack the Ripper or something much worse? And why have the murders been covered up over the years? With the help of Scotland Yard, London’s Gangland and Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Kit Aston is in a race against time to bring a sinister cult to justice. What reviewers are saying about Jack Murray’s Kit ...

Not all the myths of monsters lurking in the dark are just stories. When Doctor Watson first took rooms with Sherlock Holmes at 221b Baker Street, he found himself embroiled in a world of crime and intrigue he could barely comprehend. One year on, Watson’s now confident about assisting the detective, no matter how macabre the case might be. So when a young coalman from the Yorkshire Moors appears at their door, begging for help to locate his beloved sister who disappeared two days before under mysterious circumstances, Holmes and Watson can barely contain their excitement. But that ...

A Brutal Murder. Broken Glass. A Hidden Ledger… and Deceit in all directions… ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "A fantastic read gripping from start to finish - unable to put it down!" When local artist Seamus Garth is found murdered in his seafront boathouse with paintings strewn around his body, DI Hogarth senses a sinister misdirection. Seamus was a man on the edge, a thorn in the authorities' side, but someone was watching his every move. Why did poor Seamus have to die like this? As Hogarth investigates the crime scene, he soon discovers signs of a dark conspiracy. What secrets did Seamus uncover ...

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #3 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."WHEN A MAN IS FOUND STRANGLED by a climbing rope beneath the Lake District's notorious Sharp Edge, it is assumed he is the victim of a tragic accident. But Detective Inspector Skelgill suspects otherwise, and his fears are borne out when a second corpse is discovered close to Striding Edge. Soon it appears that a ritualistic serial killer stalks Cumbria's fells. As the body count increases, Skelgill must determine the connection between the seemingly randomly ...

When a woman with a past is brutally murdered, the detectives assigned to the investigation discover that there’s no shortage of motives and suspects. A faceless corpse is found in a local park. DCI Tyler and DS Mills establish that the dead woman was working at two brothels in the city, and operating under the name Scarlet. A wealth of suspects and motives are uncovered, and Scarlet, a complex young woman with an interesting past, appears to have been leading a secret life. The investigation stalls, and Tyler’s long-suffering boss goes off sick, his ambitious replacement demanding a ...

When DI Joe Hogarth is called to a snowbound country house, he discovers a body slumped by a broken boiler. What appears to be a tragic accident takes a sinister turn when Hogarth spots a telltale footprint nearby. On the hunt for a killer, he uncovers a web of motives among business rivals, a bitter ex-wife, a duplicitous groundskeeper, and perhaps even the dead man’s sons. But as Hogarth delves deeper into the victim's plans, he soon uncovers a motive that eclipses them all… Meanwhile, property developer Dina Cruxley is targeted by a dangerous criminal campaign that hits at the heart ...

In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet, reasoned the detective, like Hercules, he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just 12 more cases: his self-imposed "Labors". Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

Two years ago, Miff Ferguson chose to opt out of the rat race. Since then he's been living rough and happily so. Until now. For as the first signs of winter approach, everything in his life is uprooted. While looking for shelter, Miff stumbles across the corpse of a young woman in a dilapidated warehouse. Quickly realizing he is not alone, and has been spotted, Miff becomes embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse with a killer that forces him to abandon his life and take refuge with his aunt and uncle in the village of Weston St. Ambrose.

When Constable Evan Evans and his new fiancée decide to travel south from home in Llanfair, Wales, to visit his mother in Swansea, they're not expecting the disturbing news that greets them on their arrival: the young thug convicted of murdering Evan's father several years earlier is suspected of murder once again.

When an estate agent goes missing, her husband, a security consultant, is the chief suspect. But when DCI Tyler and DS Mills are involved, things rarely prove to be so straightforward. Estate agent Paula Lyons has it all. Young and beautiful, living in a dream house, in a desirable part of town, married to a successful hunk of a man, a recent promotion and plans to start a family. But leaving for work one morning, she never arrives. Her husband, John, a security consultant, reports her missing, and DCI Tyler and DS Mills investigate. Paula and John appear to have perfect lives, and everyone...

Commander Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard has just published a new book of poems and has taken a brief respite from publicity on the remote Larksoken headland on the Norfolk coast. A psychotic strangler of young women is at large in Norfolk, and getting nearer to Larksoken with every killing. And when Dalgliesh discovers the murdered body of the Acting Administrative Officer on the beach, he finds himself caught up in one of the most baffling murder cases of his career.

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #15 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."VIRILE; HANDSOME; RUTHLESS. When gamekeeper Lawrence Melling takes over at traditional Lakeland sporting estate Shuteham Hall he soon ruffles the feathers of not only elderly Lord Edward Bullingdon and his younger model wife Miranda, but also their adult offspring and fellow estate workers. Meanwhile local conservationists perceive an existential threat to rare hen harriers nesting on nearby Over Moor. And when Miranda’s jewellery worth a six-figure sum goes ...

The Child Taker In a chilling tale drawn from the haunting realities of high-profile child abductions, The Child Taker immerses readers in a desperate race against time. Five-year-old twins vanish from their tent in the serene Lake District, thrusting their family into a nightmare and sparking a frenetic hunt for a sinister paedophile ring. With police protocol dictating that 60% of abducted children are murdered within the first four hours—an hour they refer to as the "golden hour"—every second counts. As the investigation intensifies, the clock ticks mercilessly, plunging detectives ...

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I LOVE THIS BOOK! This is the second one I have read. It paints such a lovely picture of the village they live in. Makes you want to live there. There’s always a mystery to be solved. Look forward to reading the next one." -- Tonda K.H. A DELIGHTFUL COZY MYSTERY FULL OF QUAINT VILLAGES, QUIRKY CHARACTERS, AND MADCAP ADVENTURES BY A BESTSELLING AUTHOR. “We've got gypsies!” Old Grimsy, Marsden-Lacey's cantankerous town gossip, warns the patrons of The Traveller's Inn one golden autumn afternoon. Soon, the quaint Yorkshire village is playing host to a family of exotic ...

In 1950, a death occurs under the uniquely-banded cliffs in Hunstanton. It is soon realised that this is a case of murder, but the Norfolk police inspector runs into difficulties, and Scotland Yard DCI Philip Bryce finds himself back in the county for the second time in a matter of months. A local amateur detective with a considerable knowledge of murder cases (both real and fictional) is determined to help the police, and comes up with various suggestions. However, initially neither he nor the police seem to be able to pin all the usual key elements – means, motive, and opportunity – ...

He’s already murdered eight women. Now, he’s coming for me. We find her on a grey November day on Dartmoor, England. I’m excavating a Bronze-Age cairn, expecting to find a burial urn and maybe some bronze tools if I’m really lucky. And then I see her fingers poking through the soil as if she’s trying to claw her way out of her grave. I’m an osteoarchaeologist, used to dealing with bones, and I know immediately she’s been in the ground for months rather than thousands of years. Then I find a message in the grave that’s clearly meant for me. It turns out the girl is the eighth...

'This is an evil and twisted novel that has you racing towards the end. A definite must-read. If you only read one thriller this year, make it this one....' When a dog walker stumbles upon a dismembered limb in Delamere Forest, the city of Liverpool is thrust into a nightmare. As Detective Chief Inspector Olivia Mann spearheads the investigation, her team uncovers a series of grotesque murders, each echoing the tragic stories of vulnerable young women: runaways from the care system and workers lost in the city’s red-light district. As the body count rises, the detectives discover ...

A crucified priest. A detective haunted by the past. A day of reckoning. When a priest is found crucified, following the desecration of local churches, hysterical media coverage focuses on terrorism, and a satanic cult operating out in the wilds of North Staffordshire. Panic grips the city. DCI Tyler and DS Mills are under pressure as the toxic atmosphere deepens. One line of enquiry, involving historic allegations against the murdered priest, is close to home for Tyler and threatens to tip him over the edge. But Mills has a hunch that could lead the investigation in a different direction, ...

A burglar is found shot dead in the home of Viscount Tallis, a wealthy industrialist. The man was equipped with a stethoscope, and appears to have been attempting to open a safe in the study. Tallis himself is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, on his way to America on Government business. Although various members of his family are present in the house, together with guests, nobody has access to the safe – nobody even knows what it might contain. It isn't even clear if the safebreaker succeeded in opening it. Detective Inspector Tommy Rees is given the case. Rees is approaching ...

STAND-ALONE MURDER MYSTERY, #13 IN THE SERIES. MEET MAVERICK BRITISH DETECTIVE DI SKELGILL... "MAD, BAD AND JUST A LITTLE BIT COZY."MURDER ON THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS? When the exclusive London-to-Edinburgh sleeper plunges into a snowdrift deep in the Cumbrian fells, DI Skelgill awakes to discover one fellow passenger dead and another missing. Through a blinding blizzard Skelgill leads a daring evacuation – but even before they reach the sanctuary of an isolated coaching inn, a third traveller suffers a life-threatening mishap. As suspicion pervades the elite group of apparent strangers, ...