British Mysteries

The Magician Vanishes! Benjamin Vickery, alias The Great Vicari, attends a meeting with a shadowy secret service official - and then disappears. His assistant Malloy and housekeeper Betty become increasingly concerned for his safety and set out to find him. But where should they look? His Majesty’s government won’t admit that the ex-magician was working for them, so the intrepid duo must investigate without their help. When Malloy is attacked by foreign spies, he knows he must be getting close to something - but what conspiracy are they hatching in the heart of the English countryside? ...

Memories restored, Trench returns to the Stokeham Herald only to find that Editor Law’s girlfriend, ‘Moaning’ Margaret has replaced him as senior reporter at the Herald. Even worse, Margaret insists on only investigating stories that are ‘good for the community’. And what seems like a straight forward theft story at the local night school is first on her hit list. But there is something decidedly odd going on at Stokeham Night School and it might, just might turn into the type of investigation Margaret wanted to avoid in the first place…

When the body of a man killed by a point blank shot to the head is found in Crooked Man Woods, it appears to be a suicide. But when Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter begin to investigate, it soon becomes clear that not all is as it seems. The victim, Carl Finch, had been causing quite a stir in the small-town community. With rising debts and complicated relationships, the suspects are beginning to mount up.

A man lies in an alley, beaten to death. Another man stumbles away, his memory of what happened erased by a blow to his head. Nearby, a walking stick has been flung aside, bloodied and broken. In the most personal case he has ever investigated, DCI Will Cooper is assigned to solve a crime in which his former partner and nemesis, Sean Notley, is the main suspect. Although he has sworn to remain impartial, Will is desperate to atone for the actions which caused the rift between them and led to Notley’s quitting the force. The only way to ease his guilt is to prove Notley innocent, despite ...

Jo told him the phone call had been about a woman who wanted to have her husband declared dead. Smith thought for a moment and then said, 'Hmm. There must be a few million women in this country who feel like that. I take it her husband's been missing for a while and she's decided it's time to move on. In the absence of a body, which is always a nuisance, she wants Diver and Diver to confirm there's no proof he's alive. And I've told Jason a dozen times I'm not getting involved in anything matrimonial. I have enough trouble sorting out my own relationships.'

Can she save her daughter from a dastardly demon? Oh, and solve a murder in her spare time? Newly divorced and forty, Milly’s life takes a magical turn for the better. She has a fabulous London pad, a hunky boyfriend and a hip new cafe on King’s Road, Chelsea. She even counts royalty among her customers. What could go wrong? Everything. Someone murders her landlord, and Milly turns amateur sleuth to avert a miscarriage of justice. Then, customers disappear into a time tunnel, lured by a vengeful, greedy demon. When he threatens Milly’s daughter’s life, the gloves are off. And her ...

A stand-alone mystery featuring DCI Peter Hatherall.The police are baffled by the discovery of a stranger shot in the forehead in a disused barn. When people connected to Elmsgrove Racing Stables start turning up dead the race is on to uncover how the stranger is connected to the area and who is behind the murders.The racing community is about to learn their deadliest enemy may be someone close. The quiet drinker in the corner of the pub may be a serial killer. And the crazy drunk may be the key to unlocking the mystery.A classic murder mystery.

An eye for an eye. A death for a death. Some people will do anything for revenge. And one detective will do anything to stop them. DI Fiona Williams returns from a short break to a station stretched by the antics of a gang of youths, staff absences and three murders in quick succession. With unconnected victims and widely different murder methods, the only link is they seem motiveless. Forced to work in small groups rather than as a team, frustrations and jealousies flare-up between the officers creating a minefield of tension and a headache for Fiona. As the most experienced officer, she ...

In this 5th book of the series, DC Oliver Cole returns to Northumbria from sitting his Sergeant’s exams to find some changes in the short time he’s been away. He faces an appraisal with his DCI Jack Collier and finds out exactly what Jack thinks about his performance. He also has to come to terms with a new DS, Jason Glover, standing in for Colin Davis who is on sick leave. Things do not go well on Oliver’s first day back when a body is discovered in an industrial waste bin in Byker and Oliver is kept out of the investigation, being sent to look into a routine mugging instead. Within ...

Detective Chief Inspector John Shadow is doing his best to ignore the madness of York's annual Viking Festival when duty calls. The body of a wealthy businessman, who was playing the role of the Viking king, is found slain by his own ancient sword. The murder scene looks staged, but before Shadow can compile a list of people to question a second body is found. Shadow doesn't have to look far for suspects-the victims were by no means model citizens.

DI Barney Mains blames himself for the grotesque murder of a top banker in France. He's obsessed with the belief that he allowed a near-mythical assassin to escape certain death to kill again. And when a duplicate murder is reported 1000 miles away in Barney's home town in Scotland, the guilt drives him ever closer to the edge. How many more must pay the ultimate price for his failure? But then death comes closer to home. He is left with no choice but to face his demons, before a shocking confrontation which will change everything...

A masterpiece of satire, this classic has entertained and enlightened readers the world over with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below". At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, C.S. Lewis gives us the correspondence of the worldly-wise old Devil to his nephew, Wormwood, a novice demon in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

May 1912. After the previous year’s deadly heatwave, it’s been an uneventful spring in Littleton Cotterell. Though for Lady Hardcastle and her fiercely loyal lady’s maid Flo, at least there are the provincial delights of the village’s inaugural art exhibition—and bicycle race—to look forward to. But at the exhibition opening, there’s a panicked shout of ‘Fire!’ In the confusion, the main attraction—an extremely expensive book—is stolen from under everyone’s nose, as is a valuable painting lent by Sir Hector Farley-Stroud.

When eight-year-old Daisy Mason vanishes from her family’s Oxford home during a costume party, Detective Inspector Adam Fawley knows that nine times out of ten, the offender is someone close to home. And Daisy’s family is certainly strange—her mother is obsessed with keeping up appearances, while her father is cold and defensive under questioning. And then there’s Daisy’s little brother, so withdrawn and uncommunicative . . .

FROM THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR He wants to send you to hell... and nothing can stop him... Detective Chief Inspector Jacob's life is once again turned upside down when the body of a woman is found in the grounds of Wiltshire's Malmesbury Abbey. The event is tragic enough, but made worse by the fact she was found wrapped in a shroud with an ancient coin in her mouth - exactly how the notorious serial killer 'the Ferryman' used to leave his victims. But the Ferryman, whose real name was Alistair Keeley, was killed in a lethal road traffic accident years ago in Austria. Is the ...

Pretty, young Anne came to London looking for adventure. In fact, adventure comes looking for her - and finds her immediately at Hyde Park Corner tube station. Anne is present on the platform when a thin man, reeking of mothballs, loses his balance and is electrocuted on the rails. The Scotland Yard verdict is accidental death. But Anne is not satisfied. After all, who was the man in the brown suit who examined the body? And why did he race off, leaving a cryptic message behind?

Soon after Gwenda moved into her new home, odd things started to happen. Despite her best efforts to modernize the house, she only succeeded in dredging up its past. Worse, she felt an irrational sense of terror every time she climbed the stairs. In fear, Gwenda turned to Miss Marple to exorcise her ghosts. Between them, they were to solve a “perfect” crime committed many years before.

“This author is sheer perfection when it comes to using descriptions and locations that are richly done and offering sharp details throughout the entirety of the story.” – Suspense Magazine When art recovery expert Laurel Beacham’s personal and professional worlds collide, she learns no good theft goes unpunished. Incomplete intel and a missing source compel her to make a huge mistake, and she’s left with a divided team. Every retrieved masterpiece has a price—and the cost of forgeries can be deadly. This time Laurel could lose not only her best lead, but also her most trusted ...

RATCATCHER Book One of the acclaimed John Purkiss Spy Action Thriller series. When spies go rogue, they need to be stopped. That's where John Purkiss - the Ratcatcher - comes in. Purkiss's job is straightforward. Track down members of the intelligence services who are taking kickbacks, engaging in criminal activity, or otherwise abusing their positions, and bring them to justice. Straightforward doesn't mean easy... After a renegade British former intelligence agent, Fallon, is sighted in the Baltic city of Tallinn on the eve of a historic summit meeting between the Russian and Estonian ...