English Detective Noir

1850: Charles Dickens is in Manchester, performing at the Queen's Theatre with his acting group. But his career on the stage is cut short when a man is shot dead - on set. With Dickens himself caught with the gun in his hands, he is immediately arrested. Along with the help of his good friend Superintendent Sam Jones, Dickens must do all he can to find the real killer, before he is locked up for a crime he didn't commit. Can Dickens convince the authorities of his innocence? Will he unmask the true assassin?

Hot on the heels of Best Cases of the Continental Op comes Honest Gain: Dicey Cases of the Continental Op, another original compilation from Skyboat Media. The Continental Op is back on the case, tracking down thieves and murderers from the steep streets of San Francisco to the rough and tumble Wild West in Arizona. These six stories featuring the Continental Op show that this private eye is not afraid to get his hands dirty in order to get the job done right, or get himself hurt in the process.

Rita Conway, a young movie starlet, claims she is being blackmailed and has been receiving threatening phone calls every night at midnight. She believes the calls are coming from her ex-husband. The only problem is, Harry Conway has been dead for two years.

The house always wins. Unless it falls down… When Bubbles acts as a witness in a high-profile murder case she’s warned to stay low. Taking on a gambling gangster and his henchmen wasn’t in the cards. But then he went and made it personal… HoloCity Hard Boys is the second stand alone mystery novella in the HoloCity Case Files series, a companion collection to the Bubbles in Space series. Blade Runner meets The Fifth Element in this eccentric cyber-noir thriller series about a bleak world ravaged by corrupt leaders, mega-corporations, and crime lords… and the washed-up detective who...

On October 24, 1929, the stock market crashed. Stories of suicides abounded. So did murders. Rosalie Fitzwilliam discovered a young couple in an alley in the Financial District. Dead. She acts logically. She runs to her friend, Dr. Tabitha. Together, the two of them and their husbands and Sergeant Johan Klassen engage in the pursuit of justice that could end up going very badly for them. The story is set in New York City, Vermont and Miami after the crash. Many people suffered. A few used the disaster for a grab for power and money. Does what happened back then have lessons for the present ...

"What if Pikachu was a hard-boiled detective?" That's what Nintendo asked of us when they revealed this new and unexpected direction for our favorite Pokemon. Join Pikachu in gritty, quirky, upbeat and unexpectedly dramatic cases but make sure to read them in order or you'll soon find yourself lost in a whole world of intrigue where a wide cast of intricate characters will share their past, present and future with you.

All he wanted to do was fly his plane in the nationals, but they took that away from him. Now he’s seeking justice. In the thrilling world of the 1930 Chicago Air Races, one young pilot's dream is derailed when disaster strikes.TJ O'Connell, a determined young Irish-American pilot from the north side of Chicago, aims to win the competition and fund his dream of attending college. However, tragedy strikes when a renowned American ace crashes during a practice run, and TJ is wrongfully accused of causing the disaster. To clear his name and secure his future, TJ must find the truth with the ...

Sydney private investigator Gary Maddox is asked to find a missing accountant. He doesn't expect any trouble. After all, the guy is just an bean counter. But he's dead wrong. Powerful men have dispatched a posse of thugs to kill the ledger lurker. Gary is soon counting bodies and trying not to become a ugly statistic.

The city bleeds secrets, and Max Noir is drowning in them. He thought inheriting his dead grandfather’s empire was bad enough—a labyrinth of corrupt deals, whispered threats, and enemies lurking in every neon-drenched alley. But that was before the voice from the grave. Before the memory stick arrived, whispering tales of ritualistic murders and a creature born of ancient, hungry shadows. Before he found the puzzle, a twisted map leading to a blood-soaked truth that defies all reason. Now, Max is trapped. The city's underbelly writhes with a terror that predates its concrete veins, a ...

No one knows who he is — least of all himself. When a man is found unconscious aboard a steamship to New York, the only clue to his identity is a handkerchief stitched with the initials S.H. — and a mind unlike any other. Now calling himself Simon Helms, he begins a quiet life working behind the bar of a Lower East Side tavern. But those around him quickly realize there’s something strange about the soft-spoken Englishman. He notices things. Small things. Dangerous things. When tenants in a nearby building begin dying of what the city claims is typhoid, Simon can’t help but ask ...

Their new life together seems on track: she is happily involved with LA's higher echelon art community while he has returned to hosting his TV interviews of leading artists. However, Nicole's worst fears are confirmed when her ex-husband goes missing in China, as a mysterious disease is killing thousands, when she and lover James are being stalked by a series of mysterious Ninja's. Girlfriend Merra joins in to unraveling the reasons behind the quirky attacks as the trio has no choice but to throw caution to the wind, follow their instincts and go rogue as everything goes off kilter. In this...

Lieutenant Ethan Hendricks’ greatest nightmare just also happened to be his grandfather’s newest business venture. Logan Hendricks is thrilled about his brand new detective agency’s first case, but things weren’t turning out the way they were supposed to, including the attempted murder of one of his brand new employees. But he figures their next case, which involves finding a missing sister, should go a lot smoother. How dangerous could it really be? Ethan Hendricks wasn’t quite as confident about his grandfather’s new hobby, or that the supposedly straight-forward case of a ...

Whisky Hernandez has just solved an extremely cold case, but she is now accused of comitting one of her own. Will she warm her way out of it and prove her innocence?

As radio reporter Carol Childs investigates a series of Beverly Hills jewelry heists, she realizes her FBI boyfriend, Eric, is working the same case. Even worse, she may have inadvertently helped the suspect escape. The situation intensifies when the suspect calls the radio station during a live broadcast, baiting Carol deeper into the investigation. In order for her to uncover the truth, Carol must choose between her job and her personal relationships. What started out as coincidence between Carol and Eric becomes a race for the facts—pitting them against one another—before the thieves...

When Ruby hears from her best friend Elizabeth that two of their old classmates have been murdered, Ruby is more certain than ever that leaving her hometown was the right decision. But after Elizabeth suddenly stops responding to texts, and Ruby hears a third classmate has been killed, she knows in her heart what has happened. Elizabeth is dead too. Missbrook Bay is a place haunted by memories Ruby wanted to forget, and people she never wanted to see again, but Ruby has no choice but to go back to investigate.

When the dead body of a woman is found on public display, the murder scene bears all the hallmarks of a famous work of art. DI Ian Drake knows he is dealing with a very creative and intelligent killer - one who enjoys having their work showcased for all to see. As more murders take place, each copying a famous work of art, Drake faces a murderer who always seems to be one step ahead.

When reporter Carol Childs is called to the scene of a body dump she has no idea she’s about to uncover a connection to a string of missing girls. Young, attractive women drawn to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood via an internet promise of stardom and romance have been disappearing. A judge’s daughter leaves behind a clue and a trip down Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame reveals a connection to a high powered real estate mogul and to a cartel targeting girls for human trafficking. Old Hollywood has its secrets, its impersonators and backdoor entrances to old speakeasies and clubs ...

Fred Underhill is a young cop on the rise in Los Angeles in the early 1950s - a town blinded to its own grime by Hollywood glitter; a society nourished by newspaper lies that wants its heroes all-American and squeaky clean. A chance to lead on a possible serial killing is all it takes to fuel Underhill's reckless ambition - and it propels him into a dangerous alliance with certain mad and unstable elements of the law enforcement hierarchy. When the case implodes with disastrous consequences, it is Fred Underhill who takes the fall. His life is in ruins, his promising future suddenly a dream of the past.

New York Rainby Harper Stanwick, Sr. is a mystery novel set in 1920s New York City. The story follows Dennis Lament, a young man who seeks solitude and freedom but finds himself drawn into a web of intrigue and danger. Dennis Lament boards the S.S. Faraway with a firm resolve to avoid all human connections. His journey to New York, however, takes an unexpected turn when he receives a mysterious note from a supposed cousin, Amy Lament Riley. Desperate and in serious trouble, Amy begs for his help. Driven by curiosity and a sense of duty, Dennis decides to investigate. Upon arriving in New ...

Private Investigator Dirk Slade is looking for the killer of his best friend, as well as a missing teenager--the son of Dracula. Along the way he encounters the Wolfman, Frankenstein's monster and his former bride, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Leech Woman, the Invisible Man, Wasp Woman, and a host of other old horror movie characters. That's because Monster Town is set in an early sixties ghetto of Hollywood, where the monsters of black and white horror films have taken up residence, now that they're no longer in vogue. In this existence, monsters played themselves in the movies. THEY were the ...