Ava Fisher is a flamboyant flake. Kenny Summers is a recent high school graduate. Luvon Ramsey is a junk dealer. Marie Elrod is a handicapped sixteen year old. Their mutual error is saying "Hello" to a very charming psychopath. Each ends up strangled and holding onto a Teddy Bear with a knife in its back. The serial killer is hidden in plain sight and has his focus on Olivia Haines, an English teacher at Fairfield High School in West Los Angeles. She considers herself a stranger to these murders until one day someone leaves her an unusual calling card-a strangled cat dangling in her classroom. She is suddenly aware she is being scheduled as murder victim number five. Olivia is rapidly convinced she is in a life and death struggle between the killer and herself and one of them will not survive. Using every teaching skill she possesses, she wages an all out battle for survival against a very lethal psychopath. If you like Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, you'll certainly relish Olivia Haines in Teddy Bear Murders.
'This time her intrepid heroine is on the trail of a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a mummy... a beautifully rendered period of Egypt... a ripping adventure in the company of a no nonsense heroine' Vaseem Khan A night at the museum, a dead body and a trail to Cairo. Sounds like a case for Miss Clara Vale! 1930: Miss Clara Vale, chemistry major turned detective, is taking a night off from sleuthing to attend the launch party of a new exhibition at the Hancock Museum in Newcastle. But when the piece de resistance, a rare ornate sarcophagus, is finally opened and it turns out the mummy inside it is a fake, it looks like there is no rest for Clara after all... Later that night, she is summoned back to the museum and asked to investigate a series of stolen Egyptian artefacts. Using her scientific and forensic prowess, Clara, with her trusted assistant Bella in tow, embarks on a trail that will lead from Newcastle to London and along the river Nile to Cairo. But she is not the only person hunting for stolen antiquities and when she uncovers an international smuggling ring with a penchant for murder, it becomes clear that Clara's own life is in danger too. Can Clara catch the smugglers before they get away with another murder among the pyramids? Perfect for fans of Verity Bright, Helena Dixon and TE Kinsey! Readers are LOVING The Pyramid Murders: 'A delightful cozy mystery that will appeal to readers who enjoy smart and sassy protagonists, interesting and not too complicated plots, and a whole lot of FUN! One of the most entertaining cozies I've read in a long time' NetGalley reviewer 'The third in this delightful series. A great cast of characters set in 1930, a cameo from Agatha Christie... what's not to like!' NetGalley reviewer 'Well written and filled with detail... The characters are vivid, and the mystery is very well plotted... there isn't a dull moment' NetGalley reviewer
Discover the gripping Yorkshire Murders series from bestselling author Wes Markin 'Cracking start to an exciting new series. Twist and turns, thrills and kills. I loved it' Ross Greenwood This boxset contains books 1-3 in the Yorkshire Murders, a crime thriller series from Wes Markin, bestselling author of the DCI Yorke series. The Viaduct Killings The Lonely Lake Killings The Crying Cave Killings The Viaduct Killings Still grieving from the tragic death of her colleague, DCI Emma Gardner continues to blame herself and is struggling to focus. So, when she is seconded to the wilds of Yorkshire, Emma hopes she’ll be able to get her mind back on the job, doing what she does best - putting killers behind bars. But when she is immediately thrown into another violent murder, Emma has no time to rest. Desperate to get answers and find the killer, Emma needs all the help she can. But her new partner, DI Paul Riddick, has demons and issues of his own. And when this new murder reveals links to an old case Riddick was involved with, Emma fears that history might be about to repeat itself... The Lonely Lake Killings When the body of a young local girl is found next to an isolated lake, the main suspect is the old recluse who has lived next to the lake for many years – especially when the young girl’s purse is found on the old man’s doorstep. But DCI Emma Gardner and her partner DI Paul Riddick aren’t so sure. Why would the old hermit leave such an obvious clue? And who would want to set the old man up? As they dig deeper into the murder they discover a community in fear, determined to keep hold of long buried secrets. And Riddick is convinced that his own dark past is somehow linked to this crime, too. Gardner fears that she may never get the answers she needs, until a break leads her down a path she’d rather not face. One that runs directly to her own front door... The Crying Cave Killings DI Paul Riddick is a man tormented by his own actions and determined to right the wrongs of his past any way he can. But when his instincts lead him to follow a child he believes to be in danger, Riddick gets in deeper than he ever imagined...especially when the child is found dead. DCI Emma Gardner doesn’t believe Riddick has blood on his hands, but he’s off the case until she can clear his name. If she can clear his name. Because Riddick seems determined to chase ghosts that only get him into more trouble. Riddick's certain he didn’t kill the kid in the cave. But he also remembers another case, twenty years ago, with shocking similarities...which means someone is trying to trap Riddick. Can Riddick uncover the truth, or will this be the case that finally destroys him once and for all?
A British detective superintendent recounts a remarkable ten-year investigation, and other compelling murder cases he worked in his long police career. Anthony Nott joined the Metropolitan Police in 1971, in a very different world from that of today. In this memoir he describes his early experiences in the Met, including the arrest of a man for murdering a prostitute in Kings Cross. He was present when a fellow police officer was almost stabbed to death, and witnessed an act of police brutality when he interrupted the beating of a petty criminal in a cell by the CID. In 1976, he transferred to the county force of Dorset where, not long after his promotion to detective sergeant, he engaged in what would be a ten-year long investigation into the disappearance of Monica Taylor, leading to the eventual conviction of her husband, Peter, for what was almost the perfect murder—Monica’s remains were never found. He also recounts a series of other cases in which he was involved, from the murder and decapitation of a woman in Bournemouth and the random killing of another, to the extremely violent killing of a gay man in Boscombe Gardens, Bournemouth, in which it took two years to bring the perpetrators to justice. While he served as a DCI in Bournemouth in 1994, the chance visit of a detective sergeant from Guernsey, who was investigating a life insurance fraud, led to the reopening of a missing person enquiry from eight years earlier, and resulted in the conviction of Russell Causley for murder, despite his wife’s body also never being recovered. This book provides an insight into the methodical and transparent way in which the police investigate complicated crimes—from riots to almost perfect murders.
Mr. Fortune is suspected of murdering his wife. Grijpstra and de Gier begin a search that leads to the unidentified corpse of a man stuffed into the trunk of a stolen Mercedes. But where is the body of Mrs. Fortune? Tracking a killer without a corpse and a corpse without a killer, the Amsterdam cops finally arrive at the bonechilling truth.
This holiday season, teddy bear shop manager Sasha Silverman must solve the slaying of Santa Bear . . . Sasha and her sister Maddie are thrilled that the Silver Bear Shop and Factory has won the Teddy Bear Keepsake Contest, which means they get to produce a holiday specialty toy, a wizard bear named “Beary Potter.” Promising to be just as magical is Silver Hollow’s annual tree-lighting ceremony and village parade. Only one hitch: the parade’s mascot, Santa Bear—played by Mayor Cal Bloom—is missing. After a frantic search among the floats, Bloom is found dead. When the outfit is removed, it’s clear the mayor’s been electrocuted. Who zapped hizzoner and then stuffed him into his Santa Bear suit? While the police investigate the grisly crime, Sasha attempts to track down the murderer herself, with some help from the Guilty Pleasures Gossip Club. Can they wrap up this case in time for Christmas—or will Sasha meet her own shocking end? Praise for BEARLY DEPARTED “You’ll fall in love with this delightful debut mystery.” —Victoria Thompson, bestselling author of Murder in Morningside Heights “The first in a new series features a complex plot awash in red herrings, a perky heroine . . . and everything you ever wanted to know about teddy bears.” —Kirkus Reviews “The appealing, impulsive amateur sleuth, dedicated to the family business, will appeal to fans of character-driven cozies.” —Library Journal “Entertaining . . . inhabited by quirky, fully developed characters and good dogs and cats.” —Publishers Weekly