British Crime Fiction

When Sukey Reynolds receives news of a death at the elegant Mariners Hotel, she is intrigued. Who could possibly have wanted to hurt Dr. Whistler, a shy and retiring archaeology professor? The dusty documents he was carrying couldn’t possibly be of value, could they? You would never expect this sophisticated establishment to be home to murder. What secrets are hiding inside the charming Mariners Hotel?

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?

"They thought they’d seen the back of the vicious gang. They were wrong.

When a distinctive and valuable jewel-encrusted eye patch appears in a Christie’s auction in London, it isn’t long before the original owner’s family is made aware.

The auction starts a chain of events that lead to the reappearance of the dreaded Qupi gang, only this time led by the matriarch.

She wastes no time in arriving in the East London, causing mayhem as she leaves no stone unturned in the search for her missing husband.

Chloe Todd believes her baby daughter is sleeping peacefully in her pram in the back garden. She lifts away the blanket to check on her – and gasps in shock. Chloe's neighbor calls the police. But all is not as it seems . . . Chloe Todd is in a loveless marriage. Her husband a villain who works for a man called Dean Rawlins. Rawlins has been missing for a year. Det Superintendent Hedley Sharp arrested Rawlins just before he went missing. Something he's had to live with. Hedley is suspicious but his inspector is on Chloe's side – a bone of contention throughout the investigation.

They were meant to be safe on Fleet Ward: psychiatric patients monitored, treated, cared for. But now one of their number is found murdered, and the accusations begin to fly. Was it one of his fellow patients? A member of staff? Or did someone come in from the outside? DC Alice Armitage is methodical, tireless, and she's quickly on the trail of the killer. The only problem is, Alice is a patient too.

“We have a secret the Devil and I.” These are the chilling words on the back of an old photograph that Sister Joan uncovers while cleaning out the attic storerooms. What she discovers among the dusty antiques leads to her most dangerous case yet. Joan has the strangest feeling that she's being followed. But the person she thinks she saw died over a year ago . . . Or did he? Then a young secretary turns up dead. She's been strangled. Another body is found and Sister Joan must get to the bottom of things before the murderer strikes again.

Not when missing sheep need locating, stray dogs need homing, and thieves need identifying! As Britain’s most popular copper continues his work around the village, he has to cope with an array of eccentric characters: a postman who can’t read, a helpful lady who steals from the elderly people in her care, and a delightful small-time villain called Tin Lid Talbot. Winning an aged tin of sardines in a local raffle and upsetting the villagers by getting first prize at the local whist drive, PC Nick Rhea must contend with the variety and humorous exploits of a Yorkshire village.

Inspired by the author’s own experience, The Vicar introduces Terry Nolan, an MI5 operative who, when he discovers his cover is blown and millions of lives are at stake, will do whatever it takes to stop enemy forces. Terry Nolan, an off-the-books MI5 operative known as the Vicar, has been officially dead for the past thirty years. But when Nolan is attacked in Boston, it becomes clear his cover is blown. Even worse, his Parishioners—the network of spies who work under the Vicar—have all been compromised.

Dark waters hide deadly secrets. When the headmistress of a Portsmouth school is found brutally murdered on an old structure in the middle of Langstone Harbour, Detective Andy Horton of Portsmouth CID is assigned to the case. The victim, discovered with a note with the words ‘Have you forgotten ME?’, was a steely, determined woman who made enemies on her path to success. But did any of them hate her enough to want her dead?With the clock ticking and Superintendent Uckfield pressing for results, Horton is forced to make a decision that will put his life on the line.

As the head of the Major Investigation Team, Detective Inspector Laura Warburton must catch a killer that is preying on vulnerable women. The case strikes dangerously close to home for Laura. Once a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her ex-fiancé, Laura escaped with a shattered reputation, a drinking problem and tormented memories. With the body count piling up, Laura barely holds herself together as she finds and pieces together the fragmented clues at the crime scenes. Like breadcrumbs, the clues lead her down a dark road to a past she wishes to forget.

Grave Stones is the ninth instalment of Andrea Frazer's Falconer Files, a detective series chock-full of picture-postcard villages, dastardly deeds, and a delightful slice of humour. The residents of Shepford St Bernard are to have a party in the church hall, in response to a request to boost congregation numbers only their new vicar is a woman, and a young one to boot, which is not to everyone's liking ... The morning after the party, the extent of the brooding resentment felt in the small community is revealed when an elderly woman is found dead outside her house, the contents of her safe...

A Detective Superintendent of the Nottinghamshire Police Force is found brutally murdered in the idyllic Clumber Park. The victim used to run the same Unit that DI Rob Loxley is now a part of. That was until a drug bust went badly wrong, resulting in the deaths of four officers. Corruption was suspected, and Rob is something of an expert on that. As the new DI of the unit, it falls to Rob to investigate the murder and find the killer, but this means dealing with Anti-Corruption, a worrying prospect at best.

When DI Tom Thorne is called to conduct a routine assessment at the site of a suicide, he expects to be in and out in no time. But when he arrives at the metro station, where a woman named Philippa Goodwin threw herself in front of an underground train, Thorne inexplicably senses something awry and feels compelled to dig deeper. He soon discovers that she was the victim of a callous con-man who preys on vulnerable women, and whose deception plunged Philippa to her end. Thorne enlists DI Nicola Tanner to help him track down the swindler and bring him to justice.

Fresh from solving a spate of murder mysteries, Diana Bakewell and Zaf Williams are separated when Zaf goes on a course to gain his qualification as a tour guide. The course is at London's iconic St Paul's Cathedral, which Zaf is expected to get to know so he can be tested on his tour guide abilities. Meanwhile, Diana is forced from her wonderful London home by her unscrupulous landlord. But all this has to be put aside when a resident at a local hostel is found dead, apparently poisoned.

A woman is slaughtered in vicious attack, and left in an abandoned building, handcuffed to a chair. Invited by a former colleague to join a new team in the South of England, DCI Jon Pilgrim takes on the case of the murdered young woman. Partnered with the captivating DS Kate O’Connell, they hunt for the killer. Jon must deal with gang bosses, jealous partners, and come to terms with his own tragic past to find the killer before the death toll rises. But as things escalate, Jon fears the past is about to repeat itself, and tear him apart.

Retired policeman turned killer Jeffrey Brandt has gone underground. He is even living something like a normal life in North Wales. He killed to make society stand up and take notice. It did. His crimes are notorious. So infamous, in fact, that someone wants to emulate him. How will Brandt react to a copycat killer? Will he be flattered, or disturbed that someone wants to steal his limelight? Crucially, for investigating officer DSI Stella Johnson, the new spate of murders might offer an opportunity to finally bring Brandt to justice.

Hercule Poirot is travelling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned him to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. There is one strange condition attached to this request: Poirot must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family.

Ursula Ottway’s beautiful cottage is wanted by her landlord, politician Marcus Grenville, so he can convert it into a holiday residence. So when Ursula discovers that the illegal use of poisoned bait on Grenville’s land has killed not only a rare bird of prey but her two beloved cats, she storms to his house and threatens revenge. Shocked and saddened to find Ursula’s body the morning after this conflict, Molly and her husband, George, decide to piece together a picture of Ursula’s last days.

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.

Spring is a magical time in England - bluebells massing along the woodland paths, primrose and wild thyme dotting the meadows. Antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is spending the month of May in the Suffolk village of Long Barston, enjoying precious time with Detective Inspector Tom Mallory. While attending the May Fair, the annual pageant based on a well-known Anglo-Saxon folktale, a body turns up in the middle of the festivities.