Cloudless skies, blue sea and a horrifying discovery - the most glamorous boulevard on the French Riviera, La Croisette, where the jet-set go to see and be seen, is about to become the backdrop to a disturbing murder enquiry. When another in a series of mutilated bodies is found on the seafront, the newly arrived young magistrate, Cecile Galant, finds herself in charge of an investigation that is not all that it seems ...
Meanwhile, at his flat in London, Charlie Cashel, an affable but aimless young Englishman, receives a mysterious package which galvanises him into action - a roll of undeveloped film, postmarked "Cannes". Charlie's half-sister, Rosie, was murdered there and her killer never found. When the film is developed it shows only one photograph: a painting of a cemetery in the south of France.
To get to the heart of the mystery, the hot, thyme-scented countryside of Provence must be explored as lives and events intertwine with horrific and disturbing consequences.

Dr Megan Banesto has returned to her childhood home of Llancloudy, a former mining village buried deep in the Welsh valleys. In her role as the village's GP, she knows the lives of her patients inside out.
But when the body of Bianca Rhys, a paranoid schizophrenic, is dragged from a murky pool, Megan questions how well she really knew her patient. In her experienc6 Bianca had always been afraid of water - so why had she even gone near the pool? And how had she drowned? Even though the most of the villagers are unsurprised by the death and write it off as an accident, Megan is not so sure.
And Megan's preoccupation with Bianca's death is further complicated by the fact that the investigating officer is an old boyfriend, now happily married, while Megan's own marriage has publicly and humiliatingly collapsed. Worse - PC Alun Williams interprets Megan's continuing interest in the case as no more than a ruse to keep contact between them.
As she discovers more about Bianca's life and death, Megan finds herself increasingly intrigued by some of the bizarre claims that Bianca used to make. What if there was a grain of truth in what she said? What if she was the only one who knew what was really going on in Liancloudy ... ?

From downtown police stations to Caribbean beach hotels, in this series of beautifully observed short stories, Ed McBain, a.k.a Evan Hunter, takes us with ease and style through the broad spectrum of the human condition, with the help of some memorable characters.
One couple's search for the lost passion of their early days of marriage is quietly and movingly portrayed in 'The Couple Next Door', before the reader is transported back to the colourful world of smoky speakeasies and prohibition era New York, in the title story 'Running From Legs'. In the most dramatic scene change, a one-ring circus plays host to an aerial trapeze artist who is willing to create a spectacular display if the stakes are high enough. Then, with a quick cut the reader is taken to meet a particularly obnoxious and egotistical movie director under questioning for the death by drowning of an actress on his film set in the story'The Interview'.

This wonderful collection brings together eleven short stories, three of which have never before been published, from the pen of a writer who has been named a'Master of Suspense'.

From downtown police stations to Caribbean beach hotels, in this series of beautifully observed short stories, Ed McBain, a.k.a Evan Hunter, takes us with ease and style through the broad spectrum of the human condition, with the help of some memorable characters.
One couple's search for the lost passion of their early days of marriage is quietly and movingly portrayed in 'The Couple Next Door', before the reader is transported back to the colourful world of smoky speakeasies and prohibition era New York, in the title story 'Running From Legs'. In the most dramatic scene change, a one-ring circus plays host to an aerial trapeze artist who is willing to create a spectacular display if the stakes are high enough. Then, with a quick cut the reader is taken to meet a particularly obnoxious and egotistical movie director under questioning for the death by drowning of an actress on his film set in the story'The Interview'.

This wonderful collection brings together eleven short stories, three of which have never before been published, from the pen of a writer who has been named a'Master of Suspense'.

As part of a two-week staff exchange scheme, Peter 'Mad Max' Maxwell is swapping the delights of Leighford High for the altogether more sophisticated charms of local private school, Grimmonds. This is a school where the teachers wear gowns, a school with interhouse rugby, debating societies and fencing lessons. It's a far cry from his familiar comprehensive - Grimmods is steeped in tradition and dripping with money. But within a day of stepping through the imposing school gates, Maxwell has yet again stumbled upon an unnatural death.
One of the Housemasters has fallen from the school roof - but did he jump or was he pushed? Two days later another teacher is found floating in the lake and this time it's definitely murder. As the pack of journalists at the gates grows and parents start removing their children from the school, the Headmaster has his work cut out to protect Grimmonds' reputation. And when DS Jacquie Carpenter, Maxwell's girlfriend, gets assigned to the case he finds himself caught up in a complex police investigation and a tangled web of secrets.

Previous Publications:
Maxwell's Reunion (Hodder & Stoughton, 2001)
Maxwell's Curse (Hodder & Stoughton, 2000)
Maxwell's Ride (Hodder & Stoughton, 2000)