CREÍAS QUE YA NO SE PODÍA IR MÁS LEJOS EN EL THRILLER. TE EQUIVOCABAS. CARME CHAPARRO HA VUELTO A ROMPER LOS LÍMITES. El primer ser humano revienta contra el asfalto a las diez y cuarenta y dos minutos de la noche del domingo dos de junio. Un hombre que camina al otro lado de la plaza levanta instintivamente la vista. Le da tiempo a ver a varias personas —no sabría decir cuántas, le cuenta luego a la policía— en los alféizares de las ventanas de un rascacielos. Y de repente, antes incluso de que pueda asombrarse por lo que está pasando, todas ellas saltan a la vez. Saltan a la vez y estallan contra el suelo casi al mismo tiempo. Y, de nuevo, ese ruido indescriptible. Aunque mucho más intenso. Esa cálida noche de verano en Madrid diez personas se arrojan al vacío desde diez habitaciones de la planta séptima del hotel que preside la Plaza de España. Ninguna de ellas se había registrado en recepción. No llevan nada que les identifique. Hay una joven que apenas habrá cumplido los treinta años, pero también alguien de más de ochenta. Un cadáver lleva encima ropa por valor de más de seis mil euros. Otro viste con prendas que le había entregado una ONG. Sus mundos nunca se han cruzado. No se conocen. No hay huésped o empleado que recuerde haberlas visto en el hotel, ni objeto personal en las habitaciones desde las que han saltado; aunque sobre la mesilla de noche de la número setecientos dieciséis los investigadores encuentran un par de velas encendidas que parecen rezar a una pequeña virgen a la que iluminan con suavidad. Esa es sólo la primera de las sorpresas. Carme Chaparro, autora de la exitosa trilogía de Ana Arén, regresa con su más endiablada y sorprendente novela. Tras una primera página de impacto, el lector se verá inmerso en una historia que no le dará respiro y que le mantendrá en vilo mientras acompaña por el infernal y desasosegante verano madrileño a sus protagonistas, entre los que destaca Santiago Munárriz, el especialista más carismático, para lo bueno y también para lo peor, del Instituto Anatómico Forense. Lo que han dicho los lectores: «Carme Chaparro ha escrito un thriller increíble. Una trama fantástica, retorcida, que desde el inicio, impactante hasta el final te atrapa y te mete en la vida de los protagonistas de una manera magistral. Una historia estremecedora, con toques de humor negro y una narrativa fluida. La riqueza de los diálogos, la complejidad de los personajes y la trama convierten a Carme Chaparro en una escritora que nunca decepciona». «Brutal: me encanta como desnuda el alma de cada personaje. Además nos acerca una faceta muy humana de sus personajes policiales. El ritmo del libro es maravilloso una vez más. Engancha y exige a la vez una lectura muy entregada. Recomendadisimo. Gracias una vez más a la escritora por su talento». « Remueve conciencias y sigue sorprendiendo. Grande».

ESPASA NARRATIVA

Delito

February 1922. Hollywood is young but already mired in scandal. When a leading movie director is murdered, Irish-American investigator Tom Collins is called in by studio boss Mack Sennett, whose troubled star, Mabel Normand, is rumoured to be involved. But Normand has gone missing. And, as Collins discovers, there's a growing list of suspects. His quest leads him through the brutal heart of Prohibition-era Los Angeles, from speakeasies and dope dens to the studios and salons of Hollywood's fabulously wealthy movie elite, and to a secret so explosive it must be kept silent at any cost …

Long Silence, The

Flirtatious American blonde Miss Hailey Duke should never have accepted a summer weekend invitation to Fontaburn Hall. But when the Honourable Archibald Cooke Wellingham's house party are woken, in the early hours of Sunday morning, it's too late: Miss Duke's blood is on their hands. With the aid of Detective Chief Inspector Reynolds, Sergeant Ayari and loyal friend Dr Toby Cropper, Susie Mahl, on a timely commission drawing six racehorses nearby, seizes the opportunity to play detective for a second time. Her artist's eye for detail make her ideally suited to the task in hand, but is she getting carried away by her previous triumph – even to the extent of endangering her reputation and her relationship with Toby?

Susie Mahl

The Colours of Murder

Sasha Grover-Williams hated her wealthy father's dubious business affairs – and ended up dead on a railway track. But did she jump or was she pushed? That's the burning question for Chief Inspector Beverley Wharton. She and her pathologist lover Dr John Eisenmenger – an expert in forensics – are immediately plunged into a messy world of corruption and violence. Who is the father of the Sasha's foetus that unexpectedly comes to light? How can Beverley be mired in the charge of collusion? What evil will Stephen Grover-Williams not stoop to in order to end the snooping? What will John make of Beverley's bid to blackmail a villain to feather her own nest? Can science triumph over treachery?

Eisenmenger-Flemming

To Mourn a Mischief

The discovery of the partially-clothed body of a teenage girl in the heart of Bristol's red light district indicates a tragic yet familiar scenario. But this marks the start of a baffling murder investigation where nothing is as it first appears. Fourteen-year-old Melanie Cooke told her mother she was visiting a school friend. Who was she really going to meet? Detective Inspector David Vogel is led towards three very different principal protagonists, each of whom grows increasingly chilling. But are they what they seem? And is any one of them capable of murder? A darkly complex secret lies behind Melanie's death – and its ultimate revelation will shock Vogel and his team to the core.

David Vogel

Deadly Dance

Karen Slocombe isn't sure why she visited SuperFare that day – as a committed member of the Food Chain group and a regular stallholder at local farmers' markets, it's a place she would normally avoid. Luckily for Karen, she leaves moments before a bomb explodes. Only a few days later, Karen finds herself in the midst of another horrific crime. When friends from the Food Chain group start warning Karen not to tell the police certain details, her suspicions are instantly aroused. Could the two events be linked?

A Market for Murder

When Max Brennan's estranged father and then his own girlfriend go missing in quick succession, he turns to his old friend Detective Jake Porter for help. As Max is then attacked in his own home, Porter and his partner Nick Styles waste no time in investigating. But when their main suspect turns up dead, alongside a list of other targets, it seems the case is much bigger than it first appeared. With events spiraling, can Porter and Styles catch the killer before another victim is claimed?

Porter & Styles

Nothing Else Remains

Struggling with long-buried family secrets and her own recent heartbreak, artist and pet portraitist Susie Mahl hopes her brief sojourn as an art tutor at a Scottish country house will prove a distraction. But Susie soon realises she has bigger problems than teaching her eclectic mix of students to draw a Highland cow. Beneath the beautiful landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and the grandeur of the Auchen Laggan Tosh estate lie hidden secrets. Can Susie work out what exactly is going on before it's too late? And can anyone be trusted?

A Trick of the Light

Meet the Skelfs: well-known Edinburgh family, proprietors of a long-established funeral-home business, and private investigators...When patriarch Jim dies, it's left to his wife Dorothy, daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah to take charge of both businesses, kicking off an unexpected series of events. Dorothy discovers mysterious payments to another woman, suggesting that Jim wasn't the husband she thought he was. Hannah's best friend Mel has vanished from university, and the simple adultery case that Jenny takes on leads to something far darker than any of them could have imagined. As the women struggle to come to terms with their grief, and the demands of the business threaten to overwhelm them, secrets from the past emerge, which change everything…

Skelfs

A Dark Matter

The arrest of a Finnish contract killer and the subsequent murder of an Edinburgh reporter seem unconnected - until a ghost from the past appears in the investigation. The horrors of past misdeeds in Northern Ireland, contract killers, military secrets and organised-crime feuds collide on the streets of Edinburgh and the Irish Republic, drawing Detective Grace Macallan into brutal score-settling on Dublin's streets and a life-or-death race against time.

Detective Grace Macallan

Where Angels Rest

Halloween in Essex, and things are going well for the writers on the Mystery and Suspense course at Ratchette Hall. Things, however, take a turn when early on All Saints' Day the course administrator is discovered murdered. The Essex Witch Museum investigators are quickly drafted in. As Rosie Strange and Sam Stone's investigation progresses they find more questions than answers: who is making the howling noises late into the night? What is the strange glimmering glimpsed in the woods? Why is one of the church crusaders missing a finger? And what of the enigma of the ancient empty tomb? When another writer turns up dead, the pair must use their experience of folklore, mystery and magic to solve the mystery.

Essex Witch Museum

Strange Tombs

Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune hopes an overseas birding trip will hold some clues to solving his fugitive brother's manslaughter case. Meanwhile, his long-time nemesis Laraby has been drafted in as cover to investigate an accountant's murder. With the manslaughter case poised to claim another victim, Jejeune learns that his girlfriend, Lindy, is in grave danger, and she needs Jejeune. Soon, he is faced with a further dilemma. He can speak up on a secret he has discovered to Laraby's case, knowing it will cost his job on the north Norfolk coast he loves. Or he can stay silent, and let a killer escape justice. Turns out that sometimes the wrong choice is the only one there is.

Birder Murder Mystery

Shimmer of Hummingbirds, A

*The brand new thriller from Lucy Foley – THE MIDNIGHT FEAST – is available to buy now**The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller* *Over 1 million copies sold worldwide* *One of The Times and Sunday Times Crime Books of the Year* ‘Lucy Foley is really very clever’ Anthony Horowitz ‘Thrilling’ The Times ‘A classic whodunnit’ Kate Mosse ‘Sharp and atmospheric and addictive’ Louise Candlish ‘A furiously twisty thriller’ Clare Mackintosh ‘Secrets and lies at every turn’ Sarah Pinborough On an island off the windswept Irish coast, guests gather for the wedding of the year – the marriage of Jules Keegan and Will Slater. Old friends. Past grudges. Happy families. Hidden jealousies. Thirteen guests. One body. The wedding cake has barely been cut when one of the guests is found dead. And as a storm unleashes its fury on the island, everyone is trapped. All have a secret. All have a motive. One guest won’t leave this wedding alive . . .

The Guest List

Haunted by their past, the Skelf women are hoping for a quieter life. But running both a funeral directors' and a private investigation business means trouble is never far away, and when a car crashes into the open grave at a funeral that matriarch Dorothy is conducting, she can't help looking into the dead driver's shadowy life. While Dorothy uncovers a dark truth at the heart of Edinburgh society, her daughter Jenny and granddaughter Hannah have their own struggles. Jenny's ex-husband Craig is making plans that could shatter the Skelf women's lives, and the increasingly obsessive Hannah has formed a friendship with an elderly professor that is fast turning deadly.

The Big Chill

¿Qué ocurre cuando tu verdugo parece saber todo lo que pasa por tu mente? No hay escapatoria: vas a morir. Un hombre recibe una carta que le urge a pensar en un número, cualquiera. Cuando abre el pequeño sobre que acompaña al texto, siguiendo las instrucciones que figuran en la propia carta, se da cuenta de que el número allí escrito es exactamente en el que había pensado. David Gurney, un policía que después de 25 años de servicio se ha retirado al norte del Estado de Nueva York con su esposa, se verá involucrado en el caso cuando un conocido, el que ha recibido la carta, le pide ayuda para encontrar a su autor con urgencia. Pero lo que en principio parecía poco más que un chantaje se ha acabado convirtiendo en un caso de asesinato que además guarda relación con otros sucedidos en el pasado. Gurney deberá desentrañar el misterio de cómo este criminal parece capaz de leer la mente de sus víctimas en primer lugar, para poder llegar a establecer el patrón que le permita atraparlo. Este audiolibro está narrado en castellano. John Verdon trabajó en varias agencias publicitarias en Manhattan como director creativo hasta que, como su protagonista, se trasladó a vivir al norte del estado de Nueva York en un entorno rural. Sé lo que estás pensando (Roca, 2010), su primera novela, fue un éxito mundial. En 2011, publicó No abras los ojos, que también fue un éxito de crítica y ventas, a la que siguieron Deja en paz al diablo, No confíes en Peter Pan, Controlaré tus sueños y Arderás en la tormenta. La serie, protagonizada por el carismático detective retirado David Gurney, es ya un referente del género negro y criminal. Con El ángel negro Verdon reta nuevamente al lector con un nuevo desafío, una trama repleta de giros y un final sorprendente.

Serie David Gurney

Sé lo que estás pensando

Adéntrate en el nuevo thriller de Lisa Jewell. Un día de junio de 2019 en Londres, a la orilla del río Támesis, aparece una bolsa llena de huesos; son los restos de una mujer que murió años atrás asesinada de un golpe en la cabeza. En la bolsa se hallan también las semillas de un árbol poco común que llevan al inspector de policía Samuel Owusu, responsable del caso, a una mansión en Chelsea. Mansión en la que, treinta años antes, fueron hallados tres muertos y un bebé abandonado. Solo revisitar el pasado conseguirá recomponer las piezas de este rompecabezas familiar y sacar a la luz secretos que quedaron enterrados mucho tiempo atrás. «Ritmo rápido y trama inteligente. No pude soltarlo hasta acabar», Paula Hawkins «Una lectura apasionante. ¡Magnífico!», Shari LaPena «Ingenioso y ágil», Louise Candlish «Me ha cautivado. Apasionante y auténtica», Gillian McAllister

Dentro de casa

Aún siguen aquí

During a communion service, the teenage son of a vicar attacks his father with an axe. The horrified congregation watch the son escape and rumours arise that the boy was involved in devil worship. Professor Matt Hunter is brought in to advise, yet he quickly suspects the church attack may have a far more complex cause. Meanwhile, a ten-year-old boy called Ever grows up in a small Christian cult. The group believe they are the only true humans left and they're working on a ritual that will bring peace and paradise to the world. Soon, the worlds of Matt and Ever will collide in one awful, terrifying night. . .

Matt Hunter

Severed

In the middle of the night, two young infants start screaming in their bedroom as the temperature drops, the baby mobiles spin wildly and the room is filled with an aura of fear, panic and dread…Jack Nightingale is called to investigate these spooky goings on in the house of occult-metal rock star Jimmy Deadman and his health-crazed supermodel wife Mary Madison. To try and work out what's going on and save the poor children from the haunting, he must delve into the history of the town, the house itself and discover the meaning of two mysterious, occultist lockets gifted to the babies on the day of their baptism.

Jack Nightingale

The House on Gable Street

Iceland, midwinter: the days are fleeting, the nights endless and Sergeant Magnus Jonson has been sent to an isolated fishing village in the West Fjords to investigate the possible homicide of a road construction worker. Ringed by steep mountains, this bleak village is cut off from the rest of Iceland and from the modern world. The locals are adamant that Iceland's legendary huldufólk – hidden people – had a hand in the death. Magnus finds their superstition suspicious... As he digs deeper, Magnus discovers that the victim was not a popular man, leading him to suspect that other, more human, passions are at work…

A Magnus Iceland Mystery

Edge of Nowhere

Criminal lawyer Robbie Munro is back home, living with his dad and his new-found daughter. Life as a criminal lawyer isn't going well, and neither is his love life. While he's preparing to defend the accused in a rape case, it all becomes suddenly more complicated when one of his more dubious clients leaves a mysterious box for him to look after. What's in the box is going to change Robbie's life - forever.

Best Defence 7

Present Tense

With Peaceful Repose Cemetery, Drew Slocombe is determined to revolutionise the entire death industry. Unfortunately, Drew's gravedigger has just discovered that their cemetery has one too many corpses when the body of an elderly woman is found. The police seem to think that the body is that of a vagrant, but for Drew things don't add up. The mystery deepens when Genevieve Slater turns up at Drew's door. As a man looking to escape both money worries and marriage problems, Genevieve proves impossible to resist.

Grave Concerns

Christmas: a time for family and festivity. Unless you're in Adder's Fork, home of the Essex Witch Museum, where it's a time for ghostly spirits and demonic visits. In these twelve short stories, menacing ghosts and supernatural terrors haunt Rosie Strange and Sam Stone, as well as characters past and present from beyond the Essex Witch Museum. Featuring stories from The Strange Casebook as well as original short stories.

The Twelve Strange Days of Christmas

Eleven-year-old Tippy Chan lives in a small town in a quiet part of the world - where her Uncle Pike escaped from the first chance he got as a teenager. Now Pike is back with his new boyfriend Devon to look after Tippy while her mum's on a cruise. Tippy's in love with her uncle's old Nancy Drew books and is desperate to solve a real mystery. When her teacher's body is found beside Riverstone's only traffic light, Tippy's moment has arrived. She and her minders form the Nancys, a secret amateur detective club - though their adventure quickly morphs into something more dangerous. Regardless of their own safety, and despite the constant distraction of questionable fashion choices in the town that style forgot, the Nancys know only they can stop the killer from striking again.

Nancy

The Nancys

Torna John Verdon, l'autor del best-seller mundial de Sé el que estàs pensant, amb un nou cas en què l'exdetectiu Dave Gurney arriscarà fins i tot la pròpia vida per posar fi a les macabres ambicions d'un perillós assassí com cap al qual s'hagi enfrontat mai. L'Angus Russell, un poderós home milionari, apareix mort a la seva mansió de Harrow Hill amb un tall a la gola. Les empremtes dactilars i l'ADN trobats a l'escena del crim assenyalen com a culpable en Billy Tate, un extravagant habitant del poble relacionat amb temes de bruixeria i amb una coneguda rancúnia contra la víctima. Però hi ha un problema. Després de caure d'una teulada, en Tate va ser declarat mort la vigília de l'assassinat d'en Russell. Quan la policia revisa el dipòsit on es troba el cos d'en Tate dins d'un taüt precintat, descobreix que, a més que el cadàver ha desaparegut, el taüt no estava trencat per dintre, sinó per la part exterior. De seguida es desferma un circ mediàtic, amb titulars que proclamen: home mort caminant, l'assassí de l'infern, l'assassinat de zombis. El poble sencer entra en pànic: comencen a córrer tota mena de teories de conspiració, comença una literal cacera de bruixes i, per tirar més llenya al foc, un apocalíptic predicador amant de les armes encoratja els seus seguidors a una batalla contra Satanàs. Mentre en Dave Gurney s'endinsa en la realitat de Harrow Hill, les víctimes mortals augmenten ràpidament. En Gurney descobreix una xarxa de relacions malaltisses, ressentiments aferrissats i amargues lluites de poder. Cada capa d'enganys que descobreix el porta a una altra. Però finalment en Gurney descobrirà l'estranya veritat al cor dels assassinats, una veritat tan esfereïdora com els titulars amb què es va trobar a l'inici de la investigació. John Verdon va treballar en diverses agències publicitàries a Manhattan com a director creatiu fins que, com el seu protagonista, es va traslladar a viure al nord de l'estat de Nova York en un entorn rural. Sé lo que estás pensando (Roca 2010), la seva primera novel·la, va ser un èxit mundial. El 2011 va publicar No abras los ojos, que també va ser un èxit de crítica i vendes, a la qual va seguir Deja en paz al diablo, No confíes en Peter Pan, Controlaré tus sueños y Arderás en la tormenta. La sèrie, protagonitzada pel carismàtic detectiu retirat David Gurney, és ja un referent del gènere negre i criminal. Amb El ángel negro / L'àngel negre (Roca 2020), Verdon repta novament al lector amb un nou desafiament, una trama plena de girs i un final sorprenent.

L'àngel negre

Després de la pandèmia de la COVID-19, el terrorisme islàmic observa a distància l'auto-aniquilació econòmica i social de la decadent i odiada societat occidental. Enmig del desastre, una petita nació sense estat reneix de les seves cendres, es reinventa i aprofita la crisi per canviar el model de país. L'èxit la situa al capdavant dels països més pròspers d'Europa, però al mateix temps la converteix en objectiu prioritari del gihadisme. Aquesta situació compromesa obliga la presidenta de la Generalitat a fer nous plantejaments que provocaran la sobtada i imprevisible dimissió de la sotsinspectora Mimí Vidal del cos de Mossos d'Esquadra, el 19 de novembre de 2021. «Ningú no va entendre perquè la Mimí havia plegat dels Mossos d'un dia per l'altre i s'havia tancat a casa. Els seus, però, ho van respectar. L'Enric va voler creure, encara que ella no n'hi digués res, que era per complir millor el desig que tots dos compartien de ser pares, desig que una feina tan arriscada li impedia d'assumir amb responsabilitat. La Sandra va dir-se que si la seva amiga de l'ànima no li volia aclarir, ella no li reclamaria cap explicació, que per això era la millor pels segles dels segles. La Rosa... la Rosa va començar a patir des del primer moment de saber-ho; la seva filla no podia haver deixat la que era la feina de la seva vida sense més ni més. La Mimí, a casa, llegia, amagava els llibres que llegia i es connectava a la xarxa». Encertar els motius ocults pels quals una persona decideix seguir els dictats més foscos de l'ànima humana i prendre el camí de la destrucció de la societat on viu no és a l'abast de ningú, ni dels més experts, ni dels més intuïtius, ni dels més empàtics. Per això la Mimí, amb la seva peculiar autoestima oscil·lant, pensa sovint que aquesta vegada la seva missió és impossible. Aquesta novel·la continua la saga sobre la Mimí Vidal, que es va iniciar amb Les cadenes subtils l'any 2016 i va seguir amb El silenci de Vallbona l'any 2017.

La llum de l'impostor

Dos terribles fets, sense cap connexió òbvia, sacsegen Fjällbacka fins al moll de l’os. Troben un fotògraf famós brutalment assassinat en una sala d’exposicions. Henning Bauer, el premi Nobel de literatura, cau víctima d’un atac violent a la petita illa on es troba escrivint la desena entrega de la seva coneguda saga de llibres. Mentre Patrik Hedström i els seus col·legues de la comissaria no semblen avançar en cap dels casos, Erica Falck investiga l’assassinat d’una dona transsexual a Estocolm que va tenir lloc durant la dècada dels anys vuitanta. A poc a poc, l’Erica s’adona que els fils del passat estan connectats amb el temps present, i que els vells pecats deixen un llarg rastre darrere seu.

El niu del cucut

Una trama magnètica i intel·ligent amb la qual Fred Vargas demostra, un cop més, per què se la considera una de les millors autores de novel·la policíaca del panorama internacional. Poc després que el comissari Adamsberg hagi tornat a París, havent tancat un cas a la Bretanya, la policia de Rennes li demana ajuda per resoldre un crim que sembla que té relació amb una fosca llegenda local: el fantasma d’un comte anomenat «el Coix», la pota de fusta del qual continua ressonant pels passadissos del castell de Combourg. L’Adamsberg es desplaça amb el seu equip a la zona, on s’ha trobat el cadàver d’un veí després que el sinistre caminar del Coix se sentís de nit pels carrers de Louviec.

Sobre la llosa

Una trama irresistible, uns personatges fascinants: Camilla Läckberg deixa ben clar que és la gran dama de la novel·la sueca de misteri. Lagent Patrik Hedström es disposa a gaudir del seu permís de paternitat per cuidar la Maja, que acaba de fer un any. Mentrestant, lErica Falck comença a escriure un nou llibre, tot i que no es pot treure del cap el misteriós bagul que va trobar a les golfes. A dins, els diaris de joventut de la seva mare i una medalla amb una esvàstica embolicada en un jersei de nadó tacat de sang. Què té a veure tot això amb la mort violenta dun vell historiador de Fjällbacka, Erik Frankel, expert en nazisme i amenaçat per grups dextrema dreta? En Patrik no es podrà quedar a casa... Un assassinat? Aleshores, no tan sols thas endut la Maja al lloc on ha aparegut un cadàver, sinó que, a més a més, era un assassinat.

Empremtes que mai s'esborren

Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully abridged versions are shorter with the language targeted at learners of English. Lymstock is a small town with lots of secrets. Recently several people in the town have received anonymous hate-mail. When Mrs Symmington receives one of the letters and then dies in mysterious circumstances, the people of the town no longer know whom they can trust. Who is writing the letters? And why? Miss Marple helps solve the mystery.

Collins Agatha Christie ELT Readers

The Moving Finger

Reissue of the timeless Higgins classic… In the depths of a cavernous of concert hall, a gifted psychopath plots and waits, his thoughts on nothing but music and murder. He kills for pleasure, constantly searching, and with a brand new target in his sights, his mind spirals once again into torture and violence. But this time, he has chosen the wrong victim; the teenage daughter of one of the most feared and respected SAS soldiers known; a man with more training and advanced killer instinct than even himself. Now, the hunt is on. As soldier stalks maestro for a brutal vengeance, one attempts to outsmart the other in a deadly game of cunning, skill, and bloody expertise, building to a nerve-shattering climax.

Solo

When the owner of Polly's Cake Shop announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form an Action Committee. The plan is that Polly's should become a community venture, managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos. Matters take a turn for the worse when she and Carole come across a badly-decomposed body on Fethering beach – and uncover a link to Polly's.

Fethering

The Killing in the Café

Having landed a small part in a new West End play, The Habit of Faith, Charles Paris is dismayed to discover that his good fortune has been orchestrated by his bête noire, the now-famous screen actor Justin Grover. But why has Grover become involved in this relatively obscure production – and why has he roped in Charles to star? From the outset the production is fraught with difficulties – and matters become even more complicated when a body is discovered at the foot of the dressing room stairs. Did they fall – or were they pushed? As one of the last people to have seen the victim alive, Charles Paris is drawn into the ensuing investigation.

Charles Paris

A Deadly Habit

Carole Seddon has never enjoyed holidays much. Nevertheless, she has allowed herself to be persuaded by her friend Jude to accept a fortnight's free accommodation at a luxurious Turkish villa owned by Jude's property developer friend Barney Willingdon. But from the outset the holiday is marred by a series of menacing incidents. As Carole and Jude launch into what they do best – investigating – it becomes clear that Barney Willingdon has made plenty of enemies, with his ruthless business deals and complicated love life. Matters come to a head when Carole's sightseeing trip to nearby Pinara is curtailed by the discovery of a body in one of the ancient Lycian tombs. And what really did happen to Barney's first wife, Zoe?

The Tomb in Turkey

Sherlock Holmes, the world's "only unofficial consulting detective", was first introduced to readers in A Study in Scarlet published by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887. It was with the publication of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, however, that the master sleuth grew tremendously in popularity, later to become one of the most beloved literary characters of all time. In this book series, the short stories comprising The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes have been amusingly illustrated using only Lego® brand minifigures and bricks. The illustrations recreate, through custom designed Lego models, the composition of the black and white drawings by Sidney Paget that accompanied the original publication of these adventures appearing in The Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. Paget's iconic illustrations are largely responsible for the popular image of Sherlock Holmes, including his deerstalker cap and Inverness cape, details never mentioned in the writings of Conan Doyle. This uniquely illustrated collection, which features some of the most famous and enjoyable cases investigated by Sherlock Holmes and his devoted friend and biographer Dr. John H. Watson, including A Sandal in Bohemia and The Red-Headed League, is sure to delight Lego enthusiasts, as well as fans of the Great Detective, both old and new. A CASE OF IDENTITY: Miss Mary Sutherland, a woman with a substantial income, visits Sherlock Holmes to request his assistance regarding the mysterious disappearance of her fiancé, Hosmer Angel, from the carriage that was conveying him to their wedding. Holmes effortlessly deduces what has really happened from his residence on Baker Street, but chooses not to inform his client as he fears she will not believe him.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Re-Imagined

A Case of Identity

Mataura is a small town in rural New Zealand where, apart from the odd tractor theft, nothing very interesting happens. But when the body of a young mother is found washed up on the banks of the Mataura River, the small rural community is rocked by her tragic suicide. All is not what it seems, however. Sam Shephard, sole-charge police constable in the town, soon discovers the death was no suicide and has to face the realisation that there is a killer in town. To complicate the situation, the murdered woman was the wife of Sam's former lover. When Sam finds herself on the list of suspects and suspended from duty, she must cast aside her personal feelings and take matters into her own hands. She has to find the murderer...and clear her name.

Sam Shephard

Overkill

Legendary stage and movie star Sir Nigel Bellingham arrives on Cape Cod to star in a stage production of The Hound of the Baskervilles put on by the West London Theater Festival. When Sir Nigel, some of the cast, and the director visit the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop at 222 Baker Street, Gemma Doyle realizes that Sir Nigel is not at all suited to the role. He's long past his prime and an old drunk to boot. The cast is not happy, but the show must go on. Before the play opens, Jayne's mother arranges a fundraising afternoon tea to be catered by Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. The tea is a huge success, but, when it's time to leave, Sir Nigel has gone missing-only to be found at the bottom of the rocky cliff, dead. When the police focus their attention on Jayne's mother despite numerous other suspects, the game is once again afoot, and it's up to Gemma and Jayne to clear Jayne's mother's name.

A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

The Cat of the Baskervilles

Having been booked to give a talk at Fethering Library, successful author Burton St Clair invites his old friend Jude to come along. Although they haven't met for 20 years, Jude is not surprised to find that St Clair hasn't changed, with his towering ego and somewhat shaky relationship with the truth. What Jude hadn't been suspecting however was that the evening would end in sudden, violent death. More worrying, from Jude's point of view, is the fact that the investigating police officers seem to be convinced that she herself was responsible for the crime. With the evidence stacking up against her, Jude enlists the help of her neighbour Carole.

The Liar in the Library

In the village of Spire, murder is afoot. Wealthy landowner Alexander, Earl of Greengrass is caught with his trousers down in the village graveyard before meeting a gruesome end. Luckily Susie Mahl happens to be on hand. With her artist's eye for detail and her curious nature she is soon on the scent of the murderer…

A Brush With Death

When irascible farmer Guy Beardon meets a very dirty death in his own farmyard, it seems like an accident initially – despite the fact that he was widely disliked. Only his daughter Lilah is prepared to defend his memory. And when, slowly, Lilah begins to suspect foul play, no one is eager to help her investigate. Suspicion becomes certainty when two more deaths occur – and both of them are unmistakably murder. There is certainly no shortage of suspects and it falls to local policeman Den Cooper to investigate the mysterious deaths.

A Dirty Death

Newly estranged from his girlfriend, Lindy Hey, Inspector Domenic Jejeune returns to Southern Ontario, where he receives news that his brother, Damian, has gone missing in Wood Buffalo National Park while conducting research on Whooping Cranes. Domenic immediately heads out to try to find him. Back in the UK, Jejeune's plan to protect Lindy has failed, and she has been kidnapped by his old foe, Ray Hayes. Jejeune's trusty sergeant, Danny Maik, tracks down Lindy, but there is far more to the situation than he anticipated. With Lindy in imminent danger, Maik is forced into a desperate rescue attempt. Will either of them survive? And if so, can they find their way back to each other?

Dance of Cranes, A

Strange things are going on in Black Dog Wood, near the village of Nasely. There are rumours that it's become a popular dogging spot, and there have been alleged sightings of a werewolf-like monster. And then someone discovers a blindfolded skeleton, bizarrely buried standing up…When the secretary of a prestigious girl's boarding school is found murdered, all of the evidence points to the local MP. His only chance to avoid prosecution for a crime that he claims he didn't commit is to hire ex-homicide detective Frank Shunter. Meanwhile, the identity of the blindfolded skeleton may reveal a startling truth about the fate of murder-mystery writer Agnes Crabbe's long lost novel, Wallowing In The Mire…

The Diabolical Club

Judi Westerholme is happy living in secluded Candlebark, growing her own food, bothering no one – until the cops come knocking. Informed that her estranged brother Andy has been murdered, she assumes it's connected to his long-term drug addiction. But when she returns home, Judi is shocked to discover that Andy had been clean for years, and had a wife – now missing – and a two-year-old child, Mia. Andy seems to have been leading an ordinary life. But if he had turned things around for himself, why was he killed in a drug-deal shooting? And where is his wife? Desperate to know what really happened, Judi sets out to uncover the truth, even though it means confronting her own traumatic past. But she's not the only one looking for answers, and soon her life and that of little Mia's are under threat…

Judi Westerholme

Trust Me, I'm Dead

Jane Ferguson suffers from horrific nightmares which she claims not to be able to explain. And when her traumatised six-year-old daughter finds Jane dead, hanging by the neck in the hallway of the family's seaside home, it is assumed she took her own life. But routine police enquiries reveal evidence indicating that Jane has been murdered, and her businessman husband Felix, commodore of the local yacht club, becomes the chief suspect. Called in to launch a major inquiry, Detective Inspector David Vogel discovers that nothing connected with Jane Ferguson's death is as it seems. Gradually, he uncovers a deeply disturbing story involving a succession of shocking family secrets stretching back over three decades.

Dreams of Fear

Missouri, 1846: In the frontier town of Independence the sound of a gunshot shatters the night. As the pistol drops from her hand and clatters to the ground, Grace knows she has no choice but to leave. Now. In this inspiring and deeply moving story of love, courage and endurance, a young woman on the run from the law sets off on a desperate journey of survival on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Terrified she’s wanted for the murder of her landlord, Grace is certain that, even though she acted in self-defence, no one will believe her. Quickly packing the few belongings she and her little brother Tom possess, they race to join the line of dusty wagons preparing to leave for Oregon. As they set off, over the perilous Great Plains, knowing the wild rivers and the Rocky Mountains they must cross, Grace vows to do whatever it takes to protect Tom and get them both to safety. She will prove herself capable of surviving the hardest journey of her life. This unputdownable and heart-wrenching historical novel shows the true strength and resilience of a woman’s heart, even when she has everything to lose and the odds are stacked against her. Fans of Kristin Hannah, Amy Harmon and Olivia Hawker will lose themselves in To the Wild Horizon. Readers are captivated by Imogen Martin’s historical novels: “Absolutely LOVED this book. I was reading it far too late into the night to find out what happened next.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wonderful… I genuinely struggled to put this book down, in the end giving up completely and staying exactly where I was until I’d finished it.” Eva Glyn, author of The Olive Grove, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Captivating… will leave an indelible mark on your heart." Rachel Wesson, author of Darkness Falls “Stayed awake half the night to finish this book – I couldn’t put it down!” Sue MacDonagh, author of The Sea Sisters Swimming Club, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I adored this book.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Enthralled from the very first page. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone.” Luisa A. Jones, author of The Gilded Cage, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A great read… I just couldn’t put it down.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Wonderful. I loved every minute.” Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

To the Wild Horizon

The Secret of Chimneys Agatha Christie - The Secret of Chimneys is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in June 1925 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. It introduces the characters of Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent. Agatha Christies The Secret of Chimneys, starring her occasional sleuths Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen Bundle Brent, is a murder mystery-treasure hunt crossover, considered to be one of her best early novels. The plot should be delightful to traditionalists: there are a bunch of people staying at a mansion when one of the guests is murdered! (Apparently, theres a chance it might also be a bit racist, so just a heads up on that front.) It also features the fun-sounding fake-country name Herzoslovakia, which I think is one of the better sounding fake country names in fiction.

The Secret of Chimneys

When Alexandra Richards approaches professional declutterer Ellen Curtis to ask her to help sort out her mother's chaotic flat, Ellen gets the impression Alexandra doesn't like her mother very much. But when Ingrid Richards' body is discovered in her burned-out home, Alexandra's exasperated words don't seem such a joke. Due to the hazardous state of the victim's over-cluttered residence, the police are inclined to dismiss her death as an unfortunate accident. Ellen's not so sure. Could Alexandra's resentment towards her mother have escalated into violence? The more she discovers about the dead woman's remarkable past, the more convinced Ellen becomes that there's something decidedly suspicious about her death.

Decluttering

An Untidy Death

The Canterville Ghost is a short story by Oscar Wilde. A modern American family moves into an English stately home - Canterville Chase. It turns out to be a traditionally drafty and very haunted English mansion, complete with the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville - blood-stains, clanking chains and all. In this castle the crusty old ghost has a tough time convincing the family he exists and cannot even succeed in frightening them. This is extremely frustrating of course to him and as the protagonist of the story, the ghost takes matters (and non-matters) into his hands to deal with the upstart and irreverent new tenants. The Canterville Ghost, was the first of Wilde's stories to be published and appeared in two parts in The Court and Society Review, in February and March 1887. E-Book, ePUB, length 11,700 words, average reading time 1 hour. Unabridged full version. Also available as audiobook read by James K. White, running time 1 hour, 9 min.

The Canterville Ghost

She doesn't trust the police. She used to be one of them. Hardened by ten years on the murder squad, DNA analyst Doctor Sian Love has seen it all. So when she finds human remains in the basement of her new home, she knows the drill. Except this time it's different. This time, it's personal. . .

Dr Sian Love

Dead Flowers

SOCO Maya Barton is called to a canal where a heavily decomposed male body has been discovered. A bank card belonging to Trevor Dawlish is found in the cadaver's pocket, and the name matches that of a missing person. All seems straightforward - until Trevor's wife phones the police to say that Trevor has returned home, leaving Maya and the team wondering who the unknown male is. When it's revealed that the male was dead before he entered the water, Maya finds herself with a murder on her hands. But when another body is discovered, the case becomes further complicated. The hope is that facial reconstruction of the first victim will help solve the mystery - but it may lead Maya and her team down an even darker path.

Maya Barton

Shattered Bones

When two teenagers break into a house on a remote lake in search of prescription drugs, what starts as a simple burglary turns into a nightmare for all involved. Emmett Burr has secrets he's been keeping in his basement for more than two decades, and he'll do anything to keep his past from being revealed. As he gets the upper hand on his tormentors, the lines blur between victim, abuser, and protector. Personal tragedy has sent former police officer Ben Packard back to the small Minnesota town of Sandy Lake in search of a fresh start. Now a sheriff's deputy, Packard is leading the investigation into the missing teens, motivated by a family connection. As clues dry up and time runs out to save them, Packard is forced to reveal his own secrets and dig deep to uncover the dark past of the place he now calls home. Unrelentingly suspenseful and written with a piercing gaze into the dark depths of the human soul, this thrilling page-turner introduces listeners to a complicated new hero and forces us to consider the true nature of evil.

And There He Kept Her

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