British Mysteries

DS Kat Ballantyne came to the crime-writing festival for an escape. Instead she’s walked straight into a murder scene. Moments before he’s due on stage, a famous novelist is found dead in a locked room. It looks like natural causes, but Kat sees tiny clues that suggest murder. As she investigates, she uncovers literary rivalries, personal vendettas and hidden agendas. Is there anyone who didn’t have a motive to murder Mark Swift?

All is not as it seems. Is it possible to be so unlucky in love and so lucky with money? In Charlie’s absence, Peter Hatherall steps in to assist Simon with a new case. Lucy Lewis has asked him to prove her father didn’t kill his girlfriend. The problem is that Peter isn’t convinced he’s innocent. Neither are the police. Neighbours heard Rob Lewis violently arguing with his girlfriend around the time of her death. He has no credible alibi for the evening, and he’s set to inherit a fortune. Just like he did after the violent death of his first wife. Simon stubbornly believes Lucy ...

When Detective Mark Turpin is assigned the task of investigating the death of a local businessman, the case is first thought to be one of accidental drowning. Until a bullet hole is found where the victim fell into the River Thames. Then a number of graves are unearthed at a disused airfield site being redeveloped by the dead man, exposing a horrific secret and plunging Mark into one of the darkest investigations of his career. After two more bodies are discovered amongst the burnt-out ruins of a building on a nearby industrial estate, Mark realises that a serial killer is at large.

A Scottish castle, sleuthing to do and a murderer to catch! It’s New Year’s Eve and when you work for the Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency there’s no such thing as getting to take the holidays off. Which is why special agent Abi Anderson is going to a Hogmanay party in a luxurious Scottish castle as a sleuth on a mission to catch criminals - and not, sadly, as a guest out to enjoy herself. Typical. Even worse, it’s a fancy dress party and when you have to find a costume at the very last minute in the middle of nowhere in the Scottish Highlands you end up dressed as... well, why...

"Matt Drabble is a name that will one day be as widely recognized as Stephen King & Dean Koontz" - READERS FAVORITE They were the best of friends. Four teenagers thrown together on the set of the TV show "Reaper". It was a late night guilty pleasure of the eighties, a slasher loose in a land of endless fashion victims. But a shadow loomed over the show when a fatal accident claimed the life of the stuntman who wore the Reaper mask. In a time before the internet and ravenous social media the death was covered up by the studio and only those involved ever knew what really happened as the four...

Fran Williams never intended to be a travel writer but circumstances made her life take a surprising turn. Now, needing to put the past behind her and desperate for a fresh new start, she finds herself assigned to attend an ancient Well Dressing event in a pretty tourist town as part of a group of journalists. On the hunt for some background information on the event for the travel article she’s researching and writing, she soon uncovers far more than she expected… There’s a mystery that needs solving – and fast! Keen to dive into a sleuthing adventure, Fran teams up with tourist ...

"Matt Drabble is a name that will one day be as widely recognized as Stephen King & Dean Koontz" - READERS FAVORITE Hugo Montague was a man of boundless cruelty that lived on beyond his mortal days. The portrait that he commissioned has hung on many walls, but has always overseen tragedy and murder. The painting was long thought destroyed in a fire, but now there are those desperate to find the portrait if it still exists Travis Parker was an insurance investigator, but now he is a widower trapped within his own pain and broken promises. When he is approached by the mysterious Telfer Vargas...

DCI Jack Collier is slowly recovering from the pain and embarrassment of spending time locked up in Durham prison for a murder he did not commit whilst his team wait less than patiently for him to return to normal. But a call from pathologist Dr Gordon Crosby, inviting him and DS Oliver Cole to look into the suspicious death by poison of an elderly pensioner in the small village of New Hartley in Northumberland, sets the team on the hunt for a cold and calculating killer, brings matters crashing back to normality. The mystery of the death proves difficult to resolve and is further ...

Life is going well for DCI Will Cooper. He hasn’t stirred up any trouble at work lately, he’s enjoying living part-time in Llangynog with his girlfriend Bronwyn Bagley, and he’s developing friendships with at least some of his partners on the force. When he’s called out to investigate a murder in Llangynog, he’s confident that he can manage to work with his nemesis Sean Notley, as long as he can go home to Bronwyn at the end of the day. But when a shadow turns up out of his past, things change quickly. Suddenly, he is thrust into the dark world of drug cartels where no one can be ...

On a deserted road, late at night, Scotland Yard's Ian Rutledge encounters a frightened woman standing over a body, launching an inquiry that leads him into the lair of a stealthy killer and the dangerous recesses of his own memories in this 20th installment of the acclaimed New York Times best-selling series.

In the dead of night, four teenagers taking a shortcut through an archaeological dig site find a body in a trench. It doesn’t take long for them to be more scared than they’ve ever been in their lives. These are no ancient remains: the woman was killed just hours earlier . . .

Your baby daughter is kidnapped, what do you do? Private Detective Jack Hamma's world falls apart. His wife walks out on him, his business collapses and his baby daughter is kidnapped! Jack needs every bit of his legendary resourcefulness and every inch of his cool head to overcome what fate is about to unleashed. A fast moving Australia outback adventure. ‘ Another cracker with Jack Hamma as the action hero.’ ‘I have read all the Jack Hamma books as they came out and have enjoyed them all.’ ‘Gripped and held my interest from the start.’ ‘Whilst liking all the Jack Hamma books...

Detective Constable Oliver Cole has returned home after helping Lancashire Police solve a series of murders in Morecambe to find that his reputation as a puzzle solver is growing. Under pressure from Superintendent Fox, Oliver agrees to stage a week-long puzzle solving course for final year Hendon College graduates, showing them how he looks at the types of clues he’s had to deal with and setting some puzzle solving problems for the class. But minutes before the first session is held, the body of a young woman is fished out of the River Tyne. Torn between the responsibility of running the...

When is a death a murder? There’s trouble brewing in the idyllic town of Faukon Abbey. The main employer, Gwedrow Glassworks plans big layoffs and tempers flare. When Marion Rivers, a pillar of the community, is found lifeless in her bathtub, it becomes a case for DI Peter Greene and DC Terry Ford. Their efforts are compounded by one injured cyclist and another cyclist who has disappeared. As secrets emerge, yet another chilling death further shatters the peace. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter from the Faukon Abbey Chronicle, digs in to unravel the twisted web of lies and motives. Will Greene’s...

Semi-finalist, Publisher's Weekly Booklife Prize Can a conspiracy be uncovered before the Death Count rises? Forensic accountant Kat Munro fights corporate fraud during the day and kickboxes her demons at night while trying to ignore the nightmares that have plagued her since a car accident changed her life forever. DS Adam Jackson is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of a friend two years ago. When the partner of a successful London Investment fund dies in suspicious circumstances, Kat joins forces with Adam to investigate the firm. As they gather evidence of a crime with ...

On a cold night in February, the popular Lighterman's ball festivities are cut short when a guest of honor, Stephen Bremmer, goes into spasms and abruptly collapses. Once again Inspector Witherspoon returns to the Wrexley Hotel to investigate a murder. The victim was considered a boorish snob who felt entitled to anything and anyone he wanted. Yet despite his Oxford education, he was barely literate, lazy, and prone to make stupid mistakes - his last mistake turned out to be crossing a killer.

When a body is found on a lonely cliff top path, the angelic face of a murdered teenager lies facing the rising sun. Strangled by the hands of an unknown killer, it falls to DI Tom Janssen and his fledgling team to find out how she came to be there. Destined for a career in medicine, one to rival that of her parents, Holly Bettany’s future was as bright as it had been privileged. Seemingly, all that could threaten this promising teenager’s life was Holly herself.

If there was one piece of advice Olive Crisp always followed, it was that "one should never attempt to solve a crime on an empty stomach..." 1970s. Cambridge, England. A BODY IN THE GRAVEYARD: When Olive stumbles upon a dead body while walking Biscuit one morning, she decides to investigate. The bumbling police force aren't making much progress with the local community but Olive, with a combination of her charm and delicious baked goods, manages to persuade potential witnesses to open up and reveal secrets about the victim and clues that could lead to the catching of his killer. A COSY ...

The Phantom is back... It's 1920 and a series of daring diamond robberies take place in London's fashionable West End by a thief who leaves a calling card. Kit Aston investigates, and this time he's brought his aunt... What seems a straightforward case spirals out of control as London gangland's 'Elephant Boys' become involved. Can Kit, his fiancee Mary, Aunt Agatha and a film-making chauffeur called Alfred succeed where Scotland Yard have failed? 'The Phantom' is a fast-paced whodunnit, sparkling with romance and humour. The Kit Aston mysteries mix real life historical characters and ...

Thomas Mundy checks in to London's Wrexley Hotel, but he never checks out. The maid finds him on the floor of his room, bludgeoned to death by his own walking stick. Inspector Witherspoon is soon on the case and learns Mundy was an unlikely victim for such a violent crime. But Mrs. Jeffries and the household staff uncover that Mundy was less an amiable businessman and more a duplicitous con man with enemies on both sides of the Atlantic. Now Witherspoon and his staff must determine who on their lengthy list of suspects had the motive to put Mundy in the red.