Naomi and her friends Harry and patrick are in a bank when an armed gang storm the bank and take it hostage. Naomi - particularly vulnerable because of her lack of sight, is one of the hostages. During the next few days, tensions rise as the situation grows fraught with danger, and the extreme heat intensifies...

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Deputy Marty Hopkins is not pleased to be awoken in the middle of the night by a phone call from her boss. As tornado season hits southern Indiana, Marty's small county sheriff's office finds itself with a perplexing puzzle to solve. The body of a young woman has been found in a bank lobby but, suspicious or not, the cause of death is unclear. In the meantime, Marty's recent application for divorce is not being well received by her husband or her young daughter, and her friend's fifteen-year-old daughter has run away to join a rock band. All of this, combined with the imminent threat of tornadoes, conspires to make a very difficult couple of weeks for Marty...

Recovering from a bad bout of flu and the humiliating failure of his second marriage, former policeman John Latymer is feeling distinctly low. When a regular customer of the bookshop in which he is now a partner suggests that Latymer make use of his holiday cottage in Cornwall, John takes little persuading. He could do with the break. But the cottage fails to live up to expectations, and Latymer's mood is not improved by the news that a TV crew will be filming nearby. Apparently Keeper's Tump, a legendary prehistoric barrow said to be guarded by the mysterious Keeper, is to be the subject of a televised archaeological dig. Latymer's professional curiosity is aroused, however, when a dead body is found at the entrance of the burrow, and the local museum curator goes missing...

The Spook. A retired and mentally unstable Vietnam Veteran. Harmless eccentric friend to some; weird and threatening enemy to others; and now perhaps a murderer in the community. Lyon Wentworth, a writer of books for children, and Bea, his wife, a Connecticut state senator, team up with long standing Police Chief Rocco Herbert to unravel a new mystery. But nothing is as simple as it seems; and the whole town, including the pastor and an influential congressman are involved, along with a fearsome and female state governor hell bent on revenge.

Doctors are prescribing too many antibiotics and superbugs become resistant to them, leading to a medical crisis. How to prevent millions from unnecessary suffering and death? Richard Parnell, a brilliant scientist, thinks he has the answer - but his genetic research can only be carried out with human DNA on living patients. This experimentation and practice is totally against medical ethics - but the dying recover, as do some AIDS and cancer patients. Parnell's company flourishes, profits soar, and he is considered for a Nobel prize. But research is incomplete, and there is a severe risk that his treatment long term encourages genes to mutate with irreversibly fatal consequences. When Parnell wants to warn the world, those whose investment is recouping millions of dollars reject his demand for a public warning and withdrawal of the procedure. There's only one way Parnell can be certain of the risks - by testing himself. Seriously and unaccountably infected, he realises time is running out to save his own life and reveal the extent of boardroom corruption in the name of greed...

When Phillip Tarpin is summoned from London to take up a top executive position at a New York publishing house, fortune seems to be smiling on him. But he is soon to be a victim of past history and past secrets.

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The body of a young girl is found in next door's neglected garden, to the horror of the occupiers, who are friends of Ellie's. How long has the body been there, and is it someone who once lived there? Ellie seems to be the only person who has known all the families who have lived in the house - a house that seems to attract misery. Tracking down her memories of loud party-givers and possible con men amongst others, Ellie is forced to confront the tragedies of her own life during that time, and comes to the conclusion that she was a bad neighbour. Meanwhile the girl's body gives up her secrets while her killers haunt the vicinity, determined to find someone else upon whom to pin the murder...

On Armistice Day 1918, Detective Inspector Ernest Hardcastle of the Whitehall Division of the Metropolitan Police finds himself on familiar territory when he investigates the murder of a prostitute whose body is found beneath Brighton's Palace Pier. Is it a casual robbery or are there more sinister motives for her death? A beach photographer and an army officer who was involved in the 1917 mining of the Messines Ridge in Belgium both feature high on Hardcastle's list of suspects. And, in a parallel enquiry, a Westminster alderman makes an allegation of blackmail. Is there a connection?

The latest sortie for South Florida's most famous Discreet Inquirer sees Archy McNally investigating the true provenance - and intentions - of one Matthew Hayes, a self-styled impresario and creator of the 'Amazin' Maze' - an extraordinary folly ostensibly fashioned after the hedge maze at Hampton Court Palace.

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Lois Meade, cleaner and part-time sleuth, is restless. It is sometime since she helped out old admirer and adversary, Chief Inspector Hunter Cowgill, and she misses the excitement. So she jumps at the chance to help when the call comes from Cowgill.

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When Arthur Soames is found with a broken neck at the foot of the iron staircase in his back garden there seems little doubt that his death was accidental. But his estranged daughter Sabrina insists he was murdered, and when the police refuse to take her seriously she turns to Sukey Reynolds for help. Reluctant to become involved, Sukey says the police might listen if she found evidence to support her claim. Shortly afterwards, Sabrina announces she is following a line of inquiry but gives no details. And then she disappears. At about the same time, a headless torso is found in a ditch. The police believe the victim to be a woman whose teenage daughter reported her missing after her stepfather left the country, but Sukey fears it may be Sabrina. She sets out to make some enquiries of her own, almost losing her life in the process.

Private eye Howie Cross is badly beaten by a couple of thugs, but doesn't know why. Out of action, he asks Deets Shanahan to take on his one current case, but it's far from straightforward. Hugh Dart wants his wife traced; the only thing is, he's just served a 35-year sentence for her murder.

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