British Thrillers

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

Full Beam (The Imogen and Hugh Croft Mysteries) A car is driving too fast along a twisting country road. At the end of a long, straight section, the notoriously lethal bend suddenly looms up out of nowhere. The silence is broken by a deafening screech of brakes. The passengers on board don’t stand a chance… When a nanny is killed and her two young wards badly injured in a road accident, the cause seems clear-cut. Sensing all is not quite as it appears, defence lawyer Penny Mills decides to employ the assistance of her old friend, Imogen Croft. Together, they soon discover the case ...

"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...

It's June 1941, and the low point of the war. England throws wave after wave of RAF bombers across the Channel, but somehow the Luftwaffe is able to shoot them down at will. The skies, indeed, the war itself seem to belong to Hitler.

Grant Butler, incapacitated from childhood, has built up a business and in his own narrow world become a success. A rather staid introverted character, he finds that his nice orderly life is progressively torn apart when he learns that the father he has hated all his life has died and left him with a task he cannot avoid, the job of making restitution to a woman he has never heard of. Step by step he is drawn ever deeper into a vortex of evil that not only threatens his own sanity, it places a young woman he barely knows in danger of her life. Torn from his safe and emotionally secure ...

The most original crime novel in years - British ‘Golden Age’ sleuth meets American hard-boiled crime! It’s the summer of 1920: Kit Aston travels to San Francisco for his cousin’s marriage to the mysterious Dain Collins. When a private investigator tailing Dain Collins is killed, Kit Aston, his fiancée Mary and Aunt Agatha team up with Pinkerton detective, Dashiell Hammett, in a case involving murder, kidnap and the theft of a certain legendary bird from Malta. The latest Kit Aston mystery is a delightful reimagining of some of Dashiell Hammett’s greatest novels: the Maltese ...

The world thought he was dead...Living in the underbelly of New York City, James Stone has mastered the art of anonymity. A forgotten fugitive, Stone lives a quiet life as bodyguard to Luca O'Driscoll, the son of a powerful crime syndicate boss. But when disaster strikes, and Luca is taken hostage by an unknown foe with a score to settle against Stone's employer, James finds himself thrust into a deadly game of survival. As old wounds reopen, and secrets threaten to unravel, Stone has one final chance to find Luca before the world learns the truth, and his status atop the Most Wanted list ...

An atmospheric noir thriller from the shadows of 1930s London. In a city gripped by secrets, former war hero turned disillusioned private eye Nick Valentine is trying to drown his demons in whisky and shadows. But when a beautiful nightclub singer turns up dead with compromising photographs in her possession, Nick is dragged into a world of espionage, betrayal and murder. As Europe edges towards war, Nick races to uncover the truth behind a series of stolen military documents, navigating the murky underworld of Soho, the corruption of Whitehall, and the ghosts of his own violent past. ...

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? ...

'This book was epic. I enjoyed it from the first page till the end!' - Bookbub reader Man-eating soap star Melody Montague is divorcing her first husband, fellow actor Patrick Hunt, but there's a problem. Melody's copy of the pre-nuptial agreement has been lost, an oversight that stands to cost the actress several million pounds. Charged with sorting out the unholy mess are ex-barrister turned private eye Maggie Bainbridge and her faithful assistant Jimmy Stewart. So far, so perfectly routine. But the players start to die, and each time, the killer leaves his deadly calling card. A severed ...

An ex-husband. A former best friend. A kidnap. When Charlotte's ex-husband Idris, the newest star of the Vipers' Nest TV Show, is kidnapped, his current wife Michelle reaches out to Charlotte for help. It's a difficult request, considering that Idris cheated on Charlotte with Michelle, who was once Charlotte's closest friend. Despite the painful history between them, Charlotte agrees to help Michelle track him down. Working alongside her partner Angus, they set out to uncover the truth behind Idris's disappearance. With only a handful of clues to go on, they must race against time to find ...

London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France.

Inspector Ralph McGinniss, Lord of the Realm, returns to his ancestral seat at Daroonga Castle in Oxfordshire for his annual holidays, only be called upon to investigate the housekeepers’ death from his cousin’s estate. Agnes Tonbridge is found dead on the front lawn. Was this an accident, or a chance to cover up other dealings by the inhabitants? Bedwin Hall is full of surprises. Lady Petunia, the daughter of the house is under suspicion. Ralph’s brother Stephen McGinniss is making a nuisance of himself with the Inspector’s fiancé, Lady Annabelle Frampton. Claire Lane, noted ...

Caroline Lovechilde’s past reads like a fairy tale, or at least that’s how she’s portrayed within her privileged upper-class world. But it’s all just been make-believe. Fairy dust. She’s just been playing her role so well that she could win an Oscar. When the layers are shed, she reveals a past similar to that of the daughter she abandoned. As ghosts of the past return to haunt her, Caroline must face the consequences of her choices. The shady billionaire who helped secure her throne through a Faustian bargain is about to fall on his sword, and his downfall threatens her as well. ...

Ten years ago, DCI Oldroyd was the only person who could see the monster hiding behind Adam Blake’s charm. Oldroyd proved that Blake was a deadly serial killer, responsible for murdering many innocent people. Having vowed to take revenge on Oldroyd, on a crisp autumn morning Blake escapes from jail… Hours later, in the Yorkshire market town of Otley, a man is found strangled inside the old courthouse. Written in bold black ink across the victim’s forehead is a single chilling word: vindicta—revenge. Oldroyd’s blood runs cold when he picks up a call and hears an all-too-familiar voice.

On the island of Corfu, a British spy is dead and his double-agent is missing. Investigator Lucas Grant needs to find out what the hell's going on, before it’s too late. Only two miles across the sea lies Albania, where the secretive and brutal Hoxha communist regime guards its independence - and strategically invaluable naval bases - against the Soviet Union and NATO alike. Has the KGB found a way to change the balance of power? Landing on the unfamiliar island, Grant enlists the help of the local field agent - the dead man's lover - and uncovers a sinister, complex plot that threatens ...

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?

October 1891. A stranger is discovered hanging from a tree in the Malvern Hills. Detective Inspector Ravenscroft and Constable Crabb are called in to investigate. But how can they solve the murder if no one can identify the victim? Whoever killed the man must have really wanted him dead—they strung him up and watched as he suffocated. This may be the most dangerous case Ravenscroft has ever worked. Will the Herefordshire Hangmen ever be brought to justice?

Revised - Revamped - Refreshed in 2025 A mesmerising tale of love, lies, and the secrets that can destroy everything—by the best-selling author of The Watcher and An Impossible Dilemma. After the collapse of her marriage, Geraldine returns to her idyllic childhood village, hoping to find comfort in the familiar. But what she finds instead is disquieting: her once-vivacious mother has become withdrawn, and strange tensions ripple through the community. As Geraldine digs deeper, she uncovers unsettling truths that could fracture her world forever. James, now a seasoned investigator, has ...

'I can't deny it, I just love these characters! ' - Goodreads reviewer Investment Trust boss Hugo Morgan has celebrated his fiftieth birthday by dumping his wife of twenty-two years and is now intent on marrying a younger model. Tasked with checking out the back story of the shiny new Mrs Morgan are ex-barrister turned private eye Maggie Bainbridge and her faithful assistant Jimmy Stewart. A SUSPICIOUS SUICIDE Beautiful and clever, twenty-three year old Chardonnay Clarke has died under the wheels of a tube train, leaving behind a heart-breaking message on her social media. But in DI Frank ...