British Women Sleuths

When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, at first, she thinks it is a death from natural causes. But then Vera spots ligature marks around the victim’s throat and has another murder case on her hands. The victim is Jenny Lister, who was an experienced social worker, but her neighbours are quick to inform Vera about Jenny’s involvement in a notorious case. A young child tragically died and a member of Jenny’s team was subsequently fired and vilified by the media. Another body is found, and Vera finds herself in a race against time to stop the killer.

Susanna is keeping a secret. Can she risk telling the truth? Benedict, the Earl of Knightsbridge is something of a recluse. His mother is insistent that he find a wife, but marriage is the last thing on his mind. Threatening notes arrive at his home every few days, which is why he continues to avoid society. However, when his mother insists that they throw a house party to find him a bride, Benedict has no other choice but to do so. He soon discovers that all is not as terrible as he feared, especially when he finds himself quite taken with one particular young lady. Miss Susanna Millerton ...

Charlotte Lockwood and Angus Darrow, private investigators based in Exeter, Devon, are approached by a convicted murderer who insists that he's innocent. The case is a cold one, and all evidence points towards his guilt. With their investigative skills put to the test, Lockwood and Darrow must delve deep into the past to uncover new leads and evidence. But the more they dig, the more confusing the case becomes. As they unravel the mystery, they begin to question whether the convicted murderer is telling the truth or simply trying to manipulate them. Can they uncover the truth behind the ...

‘When you hide the truth from yourself, you keep the Devil’s secret...’ Sarah Kingsmoor has built a successful career as a family doctor in an idyllic market town. She lives in the cottage of her dreams, enjoys rewarding friendships, and leads the life she’s always wanted for herself. She’s convinced of this. One spring evening, Sarah stumbles upon a brutal mugging. Her intervention saves the victim’s life. And a series of events is set in motion which will jar Sarah loose from her comfortable existence, and change her forever. As she finds herself drawn increasingly closer to ...

Melissa Craig is struggling with her new novel, so when the invitation arrives to visit a nearby country house for some writing time, she decides a bit of peace and quiet is just what she needs. The house is everything she could have hoped for, even if the staff do seem rather unsettled. She has barely unpacked when the owner of the house persuades Melissa to investigate some threatening notes he has received. But before she can do any digging, he is found murdered in his own orchard.

Here comes the fifth globetrotting adventure in the fast-paced Bodies of Art Mystery series from USA TODAY bestselling author Ritter Ames. A masterpiece swapped for a forgery, a murder victim left behind, and a relentless game of hide and seek keeps Laurel Beacham and Jack Hawkes on the run. They are racing to find answers despite roadblocks at every turn. The chase crisscrosses the Atlantic as they pursue threads to murders and thefts that extend from the current day and back several decades. A startling forgery points toward an unexpected new nemesis, and the team pursues a Paris forger ...

Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope's only thought is to get there quickly. But the snow is so heavy that she becomes disorientated and loses her way. Ploughing on, she sees a car slewed off the road ahead of her. With the driver's door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter, but when she inspects the car she is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat. Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives on, arriving at Brockburn, a run-down stately home she immediately recognises as the house her father, Hector, grew up in.

Mystery, ghosts and gowns. In the charming Regency seaside town of Sidmouth, Devon, Trinity Bishop is thrilled to open her Jane Austen-themed tearoom on the picturesque seafront. However, the grand opening takes a dark turn when a guest is found murdered shortly after the festivities begin. After the chaos, a mysterious package arrives at Trinity’s door containing a ring that uncannily resembles one owned by Jane Austen herself. When Trinity slips it on, five ghosts materialize, bearing a striking resemblance to characters from Austen’s *Pride and Prejudice*. With her spectral ...

Be careful how you behave in public. You never know who is watching. DI Fiona Williams returns from a romantic week away with Stefan to walk into the most harrowing crime scene of her career. A gunman walked into a house of students and shot five of them but left one girl unharmed.With no other leads, Fiona focuses on the traumatised survivor. If she is an innocent witness, then why was she spared? Her cold indifference to the fate of her housemates could be a defence mechanism. Or could she be responsible? There was friction in the house and a motive, but the forensic evidence is ...

Jem Jago is back at work with her antique books, and spending her weekends exploring her new home - the windswept Isles of Scilly - in her little sailboat, 'Bellatrix'. She’s really starting to settle into island life. Unfortunately, murder in the Scillies is not as rare as some of her manuscripts. In Tatteredly’s second-hand bookstore, she discovers the body of beautiful Gina Marrak. Poking around the scene of the crime, Jem finds an unusual book, which leads her down an unlikely path.

The woman in white—surreal artist Damaris Gethin—has invited a select group to the opening of her exhibit Artist in Crime, held in the eerie subterranean Hades Gallery. As costumed models reenact famously violent deaths, the artist herself portrays Marie Antoinette on the day of her execution, complete with a guillotine on the stage. It's not a prop; within ten minutes of Rachel's promise to solve Damaris's future murder, the artist slips her neck into the collar of the device and the very real blade sends her head rolling at the feet of her horrified audience.

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...

Alice Armitage is a police officer. Or she was. Following a debilitating bout of PTSD, self-medication with drink and drugs, and a psychotic breakdown, Alice is now a long-term patient in an acute psychiatric ward. Though convinced that she doesn't really belong there, she finds companionship with the other patients in the ward despite their challenging and often intimidating issues. So when one of her fellow patients is murdered, Alice feels personally compelled to launch an investigation from within the ward.

A wedding on picturesque Martha's Vineyard promises to be the affair of the season when Penny Arbuthnot asks her cousin, feisty 92-year-old poet Victoria Trumbull, if she can use her property for the reception. Victoria agrees - but she has no idea what's in store for the hapless couple. For one, Penny is seriously in debt and desperate to marry money. She thinks she's on the road to riches when she hooks Rocco Bufano, whose father is a multi-billionaire. But unbeknownst to Penny, Rocco's been disowned by dad.

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.

“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 ...

A young girl is murdered on the beach, a beach just like the famous Bondi Beach in Sydney Australia. Detective Bigfoot wants to stop for Breakfast but Sargent Elizabeth West is impatient to find out who and why then Elizabeth is abducted by the killer. A comic whodunit.

Amber’s back in another humorous romantic mystery. This time it’s a case of music, mayhem and murder! The Rosemont Music Festival is packed with thousands of partying people, all of whom could be in danger if Amber doesn’t find who has it in for one of the festival’s top acts – the pop star Prima Donna. Kidnappings, murder attempts, death threats, theft and arson – they’re all in a day’s work for Amber when she’s working on a case. Unfortunately, in this instance, Prima Donna has been such a bad girl that there’s a pretty hefty list of people who might be tempted to stop...

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 ...

Revised - Revamped - Refreshed - 2025 A Riveting Psychological Thriller Geri and James are back—sharper, bolder, and caught in their most explosive mystery yet! Just when their neighbour, Lydia, finally seems to have found peace with the birth of her second son, disaster strikes once more. Determined to help their friend, Geri and James step in—but they soon realise Lydia’s troubles are only the beginning. While researching historic unsolved murders for James’s latest book, Geri stumbles upon a chilling revelation: one of the prime suspects from a decades-old case is now a resident ...