British Women Sleuths

Silent Voices is the fourth book in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series - which is now a major TV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera. When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders briefly if, for once in her life, she's uncovered a simple death from natural causes. But a closer inspection reveals ligature marks around the victim's throat - death is never that simple...

The new novel from Sunday Times No.1 best-seller, Martina Cole, sees the return of her iconic heroine DCI Kate Burrows. If you liked The Ladykiller you'll love Damaged. The 'undisputed queen of crime writing' ( Guardian) and the biggest selling female crime writer in the UK, Martina's unique, powerful storytelling includes Dangerous Lady, The Take, Betrayal and many more.

The peace of Kielder Water is shattered when tourists open a barrel they found floating in the reservoir at dawn. Detectives Stone and Oliver are called to examine the skeletal remains inside. The tourists are eliminated from the investigation, but that same day a second body is discovered - this one with skin. Have the police let the killer leave the scene? While Stone investigates the remains, Oliver travels to Iceland to gather evidence and track down the tourists who have fled. Someone will do anything to protect the secrets of the past.

Lady Merryweather has had a shocking year. Apprehended for the murder of her husband the year before, and only recently released, she hopes a trip away from London will allow her to grieve. The isolated, but much loved, Cragside Estate in North Northumberland, home of her friends, Lord and Lady Bradbury, holds special memories for her. But, no sooner has she arrived than the body of one of the guests is found on the estate, and suspicion immediately turns on her. Perhaps, there are no friendships to be found here, after all.

The call comes early in the morning. David and Helen Tremaine have discovered a body buried in the grounds of their large Victorian manor house, Llys Faen Hall, just north of Cardiff. DI Jemima Huxley and her partner, DS Dan Broadbent, race to the scene to discover that a second body has been unearthed in a shallow woodland grave. And the forensic team working the site believe this is just the start. Jemima knows this is the biggest case of her career. But it couldn't have come at a worse time.

It was just an ordinary Wednesday lunchtime when Detective Martha Munro's life changed forever. Her sergeant is speaking, but she barely hears what he's telling her. Your mother has been shot dead. Your four-year-old daughter has been taken. There are no leads. Who would want to hurt her family? Martha realizes it's time to ask herself some hard questions about her late father. He led the anti-corruption squad at Scotland Yard. It's rumored he kept a list of everyone who worked for him, from coppers to criminals. And just being on the list was a sure-fire way to lower your life expectancy.

When three wife beaters are themselves found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet. The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood - who is connected to all three victims - is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered. And he is Lucy’s husband. Now the police are running out of time, but can Maggie really believe her friend Lucy is a cold-blooded killer?

DSI Billie Wilde’s romantic relationship is intense—but it’s nothing compared to the pressure of her latest case, especially since the new chief of police is gunning for her squad. If they don’t get a handle on a series of deaths—which seem to have a connection to Alice in Wonderland—they could wind up being demoted. And the identity of one of the victims has made things devastatingly personal for Billie.

The two boys never fitted in. Seventeen, the worst age, nothing to do but smoke weed; at least they have each other. The day they speed off on a moped with a stolen mobile, they're ready to celebrate their luck at last. Until their victim comes looking for what's his - and ready to kill for it. On the other side of Kent's wealth divide, DS Alexandra Cupidi faces the strangest murder investigation of her career. A severed limb, hidden inside a modern sculpture in Margate's Turner Contemporary. No one takes it seriously - not even the artwork's owners.

A series of disappearances are linked by one vital clue, and when a grave is uncovered in the woods, the sins of the past return with deadly consequences. A local community is devastated when dark secrets are revealed, and no one knows who to trust. Harriet Quinn will need all of her expertise to find a killer who hides in plain sight.

Susan Grey’s fiftieth birthday party promised to be a talked-about event—an over-the-top extravagant gathering of a hundred guests at her sprawling Georgian home. But it would be talked about for all the wrong reasons… From an escalated argument to the disappearance of an expensive piece of jewelry, the party was quickly spiraling out of control. But the worst was yet to come—Susan suffered a horrific fall down the grand staircase. Was it an accident, or was she pushed? For DI Grace Roth, relegated to desk duty, this could be a high-profile case and a chance to redeem herself.

Jakey escaped with his life and moved to an Essex seaside town. His rescue was a miracle but his parents know that the Collector is still out there, watching, waiting . . . Clara, the girl he left behind, dreams of being found. Her mother is falling apart but she will not give up hope. The Collector has found an apprentice to take over his family’s legacy. But he can’t forget the one that got away and the detective who destroyed his dreams. DS Etta Fitzroy must hunt him down before his obsession destroys them all.

Follow your dream unless it ends in roller skates and murder ... When the police slap on the handcuffs, Helen Merang's too shocked to protest. Besides, in a fluorescent ra-ra skirt and pink plastic roller skates, she's not looking her best. Only three months before, she'd graced the London offices of an investment bank in a smart suit and heels. Now in a strange town, she's a waitress on wheels who can't keep her balance. Alone and arrested for murder, who can Helen turn to for help? The police want answers, starting with why she was cleaning blood off the knife while a body lay cold at her...

Psychotherapist Annie O’Malley thought she’d left the police force forever. The trouble is, she thinks she knows the identity of the killer, and she’s the only one who can hunt him down before it’s too late. O’Malley is drawn back to a world she thought she’d escaped, to a case where every turn reminds her of her childhood and her missing sister. When she’s partnered with DI Joe Swift, a man with more ghosts than people in his past, O’Malley has to make the hardest decision of her life. Save a stranger. Or save herself.

DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation so she has more tolerance for them than most. When one of them goes missing she feels duty-bound to find out what happened. But her path leads her to more than a missing friend... It's an easy job to track the young woman down to the Writer's House, a country retreat where aspiring authors gather to workshop and work through their novels. It gets complicated when a body is discovered and Vera's neighbour is found with a knife in her hand.

When human remains are discovered under Bradford’s derelict Odeon car park, DS Nikita Parekh and her team are immediately called to the scene. Distracted by keeping her young nephew out of trouble, Nikki is relieved when the investigation is transferred to the Cold Case Unit, and she can finally focus on her family. But after the identity of the victim is revealed, she’s soon drawn back into the case. The dead man is a direct link to her painful past. As the body count begins to rise, Nikki must do everything she can to stop the killer in their tracks before anyone else gets hurt.

The table is set for family dinner; roast chicken, wine for them and juice for their darling boy, a vase of fresh daisies from the garden for decoration. But the food is cold, and the flowers are wilting. You might think they were sleeping in the next room, if it wasn’t for the blood dripping crimson onto the carpet.

3,000 years ago Iron Age people carved a white horse on the Downs near Uffington Castle, and now someone has dumped a body there. Laid out like a ceremonial killing, Detective Inspector Leo George isn't convinced that the murder is what it appears. He suspects the young female victim may have been a member of the Children of the White Horse, a secretive valley commune, but none of the cult members are talking. That is until he discovers his friend Jess Bridges is undercover in the commune, attempting to persuade a wayward young woman to leave the cult.

If you've got your breath back from the last crazy adventure, tighten your seat belts and hold on!! The batty old biddies are at it again... In this third Belchester 'cocktail' mystery. Lady Amanda Golightly receives an invitation to spend Burns' Night in Castle Rumdrummond in Scotland. Although she is dismissive of the idea, her old chum Hugo is thrilled at the thought and, beguiled by the idea of wearing tartan, he uses his own brand of childish pleading to win her agreement to the trip. Along with Beauchamp, her long-suffering manservant, and her friend, Enid Tweedie, acting as personal ...

Fifty years ago, a group of teenagers spent a weekend on Holy Island, forging a bond that has lasted a lifetime. Now, they still return every five years to celebrate their friendship and remember the friend they lost to the rising waters of the causeway at the first reunion. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now.