British Women Sleuths

Penrose & Pyke venture to the edge of madness when they reunite to investigate two tragic deaths and an old mystery. The last words of a frightened woman may be a vital clue to the disappearance of an old friend, if they aren’t the ravings of delusional lunatic. Detective Constable Charlie Pyke is desperate to find out. But is he desperate enough to risk the life of his sleuthing partner, medical student Grace Penrose? More to the point, can he stop her? The answers lie behind the locked doors of an asylum for wealthy young women of delicate sensibilities, where high walls and dark ...

When you’re a trainee sleuth things rarely go to plan... Which is why Amber Reed and on-again-off-again special agent ex-boyfriend Charlie find themselves in deepest and darkest Cornwall when they were expecting to be cracking the case on a television dance show. So, now it’s down to Plan B... Melrose Morgan is landscape garden designer to the stars and has TV shows and numerous books to his name. When he inherits the gorgeous Treganwy House and Country Estate in Cornwall he soon discovers someone wants him off the scene – and they’re not pulling any punches in their campaign to ...

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 ...

A cosy mystery perfect for fans of Sally Smith, Steve Higgs, LJ Ross, Robert Thorogood, and Richard Osman. The celebrations for The National Day of Spain are the biggest event in the calendar for the Club Britannia complex on Spain’s Costa del Sol. As part of the organising committee, Karen McLaren has been overseeing the evening’s food, drink, music, and dancing. She has big plans… …finding herself making inquiries about a murdered partygoer isn’t one of them. Neither Karen nor the local police can understand how the death has happened. Though everything they see suggests it’s ...

With her books sporting other people’s names, ghostwriter Jake O’Hara works behind the scenes. But she never expected a séance at a New York apartment to be part of her job. Jake had signed on as a ghostwriter, secretly writing for a grande dame of mystery fiction whose talent died before she did. The author’s East Side residence was impressive. But her entourage—from a Mrs. Danvers-like housekeeper to a lurking hypnotherapist—was creepy. Still, it was all in a day’s work, until a killer started going after ghostwriters, and Jake suspected she was chillingly close to the ...

“As engaging and entertaining a worldwide romp as the first two books…Ritter Ames has penned a marvelous story with Laurel Beacham continuing to show her cleverness and intuition portraying a strong character…I was thrilled!” – King’s River Life Magazine Abstract clues lead to new questions. New leads turn to “dead” ends. A heist plot ties to forgeries. Adversaries resurface twisting an already complicated case. And art recovery expert Laurel Beacham must not only outwit criminals, but keep her wits around Jack Hawkes’s cheeky ego. Before the criminals they were tracking ...

When DI Allie Shenton is called out to a murder suicide, it quickly becomes clear that it's a double slaying, and there is a killer on the loose. The bodies are found in a property owned by local entrepreneur/drug dealer Kenny Webb. Several young women are staying there, they are refusing to talk and one of them is missing. While she waits on forensic evidence, Allie decides to do what she does best. She takes to the community to see who will talk. Right now, she's the only one who can get answers. But then a third murder rattles everyone.

“Ames, with her great writing and brilliant story, has created a masterpiece of her own in Marked Masters. She leaves her readers doing their own research between the pages. Like Laurel, Ritter keeps the story with its rightful owner—the reader.” – Crimespree Magazine Laurel Beacham made working solo a personal success story and is known for her nerve, instincts, and ability to do whatever necessary to return each priceless masterpiece safely intact. As the world’s leading art recovery expert, she’s thwarted more heists than the average law enforcement professional. Museums ...

A young boy walks into a police station in France. He claims to be Carl Meagan - a missing child from Sheffield whose name is still whispered as a warning to kids who stay out after dark. On her way home from the supermarket, nine-year-old Keeley Armitage vanishes without trace. Her family is overcome with shock and DCI Matilda Darke can’t help but focus on memories of the Carl Meagan case that almost ruined her career.

When Dorothy Martin goes to France—alone because Alan is stuck back home in Sherebury with a broken ankle—she worries about her ability to get along in a language she barely speaks, and in a country she hasn’t seen for over fifty years. But by the time Alan joins her a week later, Dorothy has found herself embroiled in one mystery after another: a woman drowning in quicksand; a man suffering a near-fatal fall in the abbey at Mont Saint Michel; and a missing American archaeologist—all seemingly connected to a monk named Abelard who has been dead for almost nine hundred years.

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.

When prison inmate and former police officer John Brace says he’s willing to give up information about the location of a dead body in return for protection for his family, Vera knows that she has to look into his claims. But opening up this cold case strikes much closer to home than Vera anticipates as her investigation takes her back in time to The Seagull, a once-decadent and now-derelict nightclub where her deceased father and his friends used to congregate.

How do you find the missing when there’s no trail to follow? DC Lucy Clayburn is having a tough time of it. Not only is her estranged father one of the North West’s toughest gangsters, but she is in the midst of one of the biggest police operations of her life.

Detective Sergeant Matthew Ryan wants to clear the name of his former boss, who stands accused of official corruption. But before he can do so, his boss disappears. Did he escape from police custody, or was he kidnapped? Or did something even worse happen to him?

Beth Haldane is getting ready for a quiet Christmas with her son and their beloved grumpy cat when fellow single mother Nina begs her for help. Something fishy is going on with Mr. Potter, the solicitor she works for.... Business is slow, with the accounts empty. So why does his wife have such an impressive collection of designer dresses? Unable to resist a puzzle, Beth agrees to cover Nina’s job as a receptionist to get a closer look. But just as she finds a mysterious key hidden away in the office, Mrs. Potter arrives in floods of tears with terrible news for her husband.

If someone was in your house, you’d know...wouldn’t you? But the Hunter family are deaf and don’t hear a thing when a shocking crime takes place in the middle of the night. Instead, they wake up to their worst nightmare: the murder of their daughter. The police call Paige Northwood to the scene to interpret for the witnesses. They’re in shock, but Paige senses the Hunters are hiding something. One by one, people from Paige’s community start to fall under suspicion. But who would kill a little girl?

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.

In the seaside town of Temple Regis, seagulls are wheeling overhead and the holidays are getting close. And then the body of political candidate Odile Clifford is discovered on the balcony of the lighthouse. Fearless Riviera Express reporter Judy Dimont goes in search of the killer - but who is it? And where will they strike next?

"Sleep Peacefully is a fantastic novel full of suspense and mystery, with many twists and turns that are sure to keep you guessing. I look forward to reading more from this talented author." - Fresh Fiction She thought her sister's death was nothing more than a tragic accident... She was wrong When Nat’s sister, Jess, dies in a terrible accident she is left devastated by the sudden loss of her younger sister. On the day of Jess’s funeral, Nat starts to experience a strange recurring dream. The dream shows realistic visions seen through Jess's eyes on the night she passed away. Now, ...

Forensic entomologist Dr Vanessa Marwood is settling into her new role in Manhattan when she's faced with a chilling case: an Oscar-winning actress has been found dead, poisoned by a glittering hair clip adorned with a live beetle. As a second high-profile death emerges - a fashion designer poisoned by an insect-encrusted watch - shockwaves run through New York's elite.