Crime Fiction Authors, Murder Mystery Books, Thriller Novel Reviews & True Crime at Tangled Web - Publisher Allison Busby 08 April-June
New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From
Allison Busby April-June 08
James Anderson
The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £7.99
ISBN: 0749080493
See Review by
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries
Welcome to Alderley, a magnificent English mansion in the heart of the West Country where a grand house party is taking place. The preparations have all been made, the guests have been invited, and the staff are on hand to tend to the merest whim of the noble host and hostess. What could possibly go wrong? Let the entertainment begin...
The theft of the diamond necklace and the antique pistols might all be explained, but the body in the lake - that really was a puzzle. 'Don't expect me to solve anything,' Inspector Wilkens announced modestly when he arrived to sort out the unpleasantness. And at a gathering that included English aristocracy, foreign agents in disguise, a ravishing baroness, a daring jewel thief, a Texas millionaire and, of course, the imperturbable butler, it was going to take some intricate sleuthing to uncover who killed whom and why.
A delightfully quirky murder mystery, "The Affair of the Bloodstained Egg Cosy" will be a delectable feast for all whodunit fans.
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Jo Bannister
Flawed
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079002
Brodie's work has often led her into trouble,
but this time her problem is personal. Just after
ending her long-term relationship with the gruff
Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon, she
finds out that she is pregnant with his child.
Daniel Hood, Brodie's best friend, is starting
back at work, only this time he's working for
Brodie. When a twelve-year-old boy Noah,
comes to him, seeking advice for parents who
`shout', Daniel tries to help, and when he finds
Noah with bruises, Daniel starts investigating.
Meanwhile, Jack Deacon is looking into an
old friend, Terry Walsh, who is accused
of smuggling drugs and under suspicion of
murder. But, Walsh has an alibi ...from his
solicitor, who happens to be Noah's father.
As Brodie, Daniel, and Jack's affairs become
entangled, it's increasingly difficult to tell who
is telling the truth.
The author of over twenty acclaimed novels, Jo Bannister
started her career as a journalist on a local weekly newspaper.
Shortlisted for several prestigious awards, she was editor of
the County Down Spectotor for some years before leaving to
pursue her writing full-time. She lives in Northern Ireland and is
currently working on her next novel. Flawed is the seventh in a
series featuring Brodie Farrell, Daniel Hood and Jack Deacon.
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Jo Bannister
Closer Still
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079266
Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon doesn't take kindly to threats made on his family. So when local crime boss Joe Loomis starts to menace his infant son and the child's mother, Brodie Farrell, Deacon is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect them. However, the danger of Loomis is not something he will have to worry about for long.Brodie has made a career out of finding lost things, but the last thing she'd want to look for is a man she's taken great pains to lose. Annoyance is quickly replaced by horror when she finds Loomis at her door collapsed in a pool of blood - stabbed to the verge of death with his own knife. But it's the gangster's enigmatic last mutterings that threaten to tear apart her tenuously held family. With Deacon under suspicion and Brodie on the hunt for the crook's killer, both are pulled into a world of twisting family ties and terrorism. Little do they know that the murder of one small time crime boss will unearth a sinister plot that could devastatingly impact far more than the pair's domestic life.
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Robert Barnard
A Fall from Grace
Pbk published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080094
When Detective Charlie Peace attains the rank of inspector, he decides to relocate to the sleepy town of Slepton Edge, along with his pregnant wife, Felicity, and daughter, Carola. His dream of moving, however, can only become reality with the financial assistance of his stubborn father-in-law, Rupert Coggenhoe, a mid-selling novelist and the district's most popular widower. Unfortunately for Charlie, Rupert agrees to provide the money but on the strict condition that he moves in with them, or to a house nearby. With a heavy heart, Charlie accepts the offer and purchases two neighbouring houses, hoping that the cosy village community will warm his somewhat frosty family. However, a short time after arriving, whilst taking a walk in the neighbourhood, Charlie and Felicity encounter a group of children chanting and jeering outside a home. Strangely, the residents are a retired elderly couple who have just recently moved to Slepton Edge and cannot explain the children's reactions. Stranger still, the children are well organised, and the basis of some of their chants are lines from Shakespeare's "The Tempest". When a mysterious death disturbs the village calm, the network of neighbourhood gossip emerges as both Charlie's greatest ally and the biggest obstacle in his path to the truth. A complex and darkly intriguing mystery from the award-winning Robert Barnard, exploring the secrets that can remain hidden within the most tightly knit communities, and the lengths some people will go to in order to keep them buried.
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Elizabeth Corley
Fatal Legacy
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080078
Artwork by: Cover photograph; David Grogan
Fatal Legacy is the second novel in a series featuring DCI Andrew Fenwick
When Arthur Wainwright leaves the bulk of his estate to his nephew Alexander and
his wife Sally, the rest of his family is horrified. Sally soon spots irregularities in the
finances of the family firm, and when the financial controller is murdered, the police
are called in. DCI Andrew Fenwick soon establishes that there have been three other
suspicious deaths connected to the Wainwrights. Have the deaths happened because
the company is a front for illicit activity, or because someone wants a bigger share of
Arthur Wainwright's fortune? When Fenwick's children are abducted, it's clear that
the police are up against a cunning and ruthless criminal - and there's no time to lose.
Praise for Requiem Mass:
'Gripping .. look out for the second in the series' Shots
'Electrifying .. the author has a direct, uncluttered style that slowly unwinds the
absorbing mystery, building to a climax that resists the temptation to go over the
top ... Promises a brilliant future' Coventry Evening Telegraph
Elizabeth Corley grew up and went to school in West Sussex. She has had a very
successful career: Elizabeth won the Business and Professional Women's first award
(south-east) for Young Career Woman of the Year. In 1993 Elizabeth joined a global
investment management company, Merrill Lynch, where she is now a managing
director. She lives in East Horsley, Surrey, England.
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Clare Curzon
The Last To Leave
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £18.99
ISBN: 0749006838
'Curzon is a prime puzzler, wickedly adept at red herrings and misdirections'
Sunday Times
'Absorbing from first to last' Good Book Guide
A family party at the Dellar's house in the woods ends in tragedy when fíre
rages through the home, killing many of the family members. With her home
reduced to a mere pile of rubble and debris, Eddie Dellar attempts to piece
together the events of that harrowing night, reliving the nightmare through her
flashback memories. Where are the missing members of her family, could this
tragedy be arson, and who would do such a thing and why? Another crime
mystery for Superintendent Mike Yeadings, of the Thames Valley CID to
solve.
Previous Publications;
A Meeting of Minds (Allison & Busby, 2003)
Body Of A Woman (Allison & Busby, 2002)
Don't Leave Me (Severn House, 2001)
Guilty Knowledge (Virago, 2000)
Clare Curzon began writing in the 1960s and has published over forty novels
under a variety of pseudonyms. She studied French and Psychology at King's
College, London, and much of her work is concerned with the dynamics within
closely-knit communities. A grandmother to seven, in her free time she enjoys
travel and painting.
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Clare Curzon
Off Track
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079460
Research biologist, Piers Egerton, has been working on a top-secret project for a number of years and has finally realized it is something he wants no part of. But the people he works for think he knows too much and he realizes his life is in danger. Lee Barber is a perfectly competent train driver, whose career is seemingly ruined through one simple error. Frustrated and desperate, the two strangers are thrown into each other's paths at a pivotal moment. Bound by the strange occurrence which has brought them together, Egerton and Barber must forge a tentative friendship if either of them is to get through this ordeal alive.As Thames Valley Serious Crimes Squad, headed by Mike Yeadings, investigates the disappearance of one of the men, grim secrets of national importance emerge. Involvement spreads beyond the men's families to a mysterious immigrant couple with a tragic past. And suspicion falls on DS Zyczynski's journalist lover as he is drawn in to counter the threat to a young child's life.
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Judith Cutler
The Keeper of Secrets
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079126
England, 1810: Young Parson Tobias Campion is excited and nervous to be starting at the small parish of Moreton Priory. But his first night in the village brings excitement of the wrong kind when he has to intervene in the attempted rape of housemaid Lizzie Woodman. Even in the normal course of events life in the village is far from quiet, as soon Tobias has to deal with both violent and suspicious deaths which put his character and ministry to the test. But matters come to a head when Lizzie disappears from her employers. What has become of the girl and who is responsible? As Tobias searches for answers they find themselves delving into the dark secrets that haunt Lizzie's past.
A perfect blend of historical novel and sophisticated thriller, "The Keeper of Secrets" is a treat for crime lovers everywhere.
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Anna Dean
A Moment of Silence
Published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 074907910X
1805. An engagement party is taking place for Mr Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.
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Margaret Duffy
So Horrible a Place
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £18.99
ISBN: 0749083034
See Review by
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series
When Ingrid Langley's husband Patrick Gillard agrees to step in to cover action sequences not covered by the stunt man in a film, she is concerned to discover the author of the original book and the scriptwriter of the film have already died in suspicious circumstances. Could Patrick become the next victim?
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Daniel Easterman
The Sword
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079304
Professor Jack Goodrich has a prestigious job in Cairo and a happy family life with his wife and ten-year-old daughter. When he’s offered the chance to authenticate potentially priceless artefacts, including a sword, he thinks his dreams have come true. But as soon as they are in his possession, the nightmare begins with the death of his wife and daughter. The sword appears to be the property of the descendent of the Prophet Mohammed, and the people who want it will do anything to get it. Once the descendent has it he will declare jihad on all non-Muslims. Only a strange, beautiful woman known as Scheherazade can help him. Together they must decide what to do with the sword and try to prevent the destruction of the world as we know it.
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Brian Eastman
The Tree of Death
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £18.99
ISBN: 0749082720
Features the characters of the popular ITV series starring Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris. Laura Thyme's cousin's son has recently become ordained, and is now the vicar of several small country parishes, the largest being Baffington. When Laura goes to visit him, she meets several of the locals, and witnesses the sudden death of one of them. A year later, Laura and Rosemary are summoned to help with an ambitious Medieval Fayre, organised by the local celebrity and historian, Franklin Danvers. Their task is to refurbish the very neglected churchyard, where the finest feature is a huge old yew tree. On their first morning, they discover the body of a man under the tree, shot through the heart by an arrow. Unfortunately, most of the villagers had just received tuition in archery, and several of them had proved to be excellent shots! Laura and Rosemary disagree as to whom they suspect of the killing. Rosemary has taken a liking to a local biochemist with a big secret, but Laura mistrusts him. The estate manager, Lyall, also behaves mysteriously. Even the vicar appears to have motives, means and opportunity galore...The village of Baffington is thrown into chaos, as the murder reignites old rivalries, family difficulties and unacknowledged passions.
All interweave to create a story about a killing where almost everyone is a suspect.
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Marjorie Eccles
The Shape of Sand
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £18.99
ISBN: 0749006498
Charnley was once the proud home of the upper class Jardine family, renowned for throwing wonderful parties to the local gentry. However, the family’s seemingly secure world is ripped apart when a scandal catapults them into the headlines, the night in question remaining cloaked in mystery for the best part of forty years.
Four decades later, the house sold and the family split up, workmen discover two shoe-boxes stuffed full of old letters and photos hidden away by Harriet Jardine all those years ago. Memories long since buried resurface, as she finds herself reliving those painful last moments before her fortunes changed forever.
But Harriet discovers that the scandal of forty years ago was so much worse than anyone had ever suspected when a mummified and brutally murdered body is found hidden behind one of the chimneys in the great house, and the family are plunged into new controversy.
As the dark secrets of the Jardine family are gradually exposed, the reserved façade of the upper class family is stripped away in the dangerous search for the truth.
Marjorie Eccles was born in Yorkshire and has since spent some time on the Northumbrian coast; both locations have influenced her writing. Her well-known Gill Mayo series was set in the Black Country and her two latest books, Killing A Unicorn and Echoes of Silence, were set in her native Yorkshire. Altogether Marjorie has written mainly crime novels, but also some romantic fiction. Outside of writing, Marjorie’s enjoyment comes from reading, listening to music and gardening. She lives with her husband and has a son and grandson.
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Martin Edwards
The Arsenic Labyrinth Lake District Mystery, No. 3.
Pbk published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080043
See Review by
Chris High
Chris High - Author Multi-media Promotion Service www.chrishigh.com
'You'd never believe it to look at me now, but once upon a time I killed a man.' Daniel Kind is finding the long winter months at Brackdale tough, especially as his relationship with Miranda is also going through a dark time. Far from the bright lights of London and beginning to feel isolated in their rural idyll, Miranda has a bad case of itchy feet. The fear that she may just get up and leave isn't far from his thoughts. And Miranda wouldn't be the first: ten years ago a solitary woman called Emma Bestwick left her cottage and never came back. Police at the time were unable to establish whether she left of her own accord or was the victim of suicide, accident or murder. Her disappearance went unaccounted for, and the unresolved case has always irked DCI Hannah Scarlett, who heads the local Cold Case Review Team. But in a small, rural community, someone is bound to know something. And that someone has recently started calling the local newspaper and dropping hints about Emma's death. With the case reopened, Hannah and Daniel are drawn together again, and discover to their cost that one person will preserve the secrets of the past at any price.
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Martin Edwards
Waterloo Sunset
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749080531
See Review by
Chris High
Chris High - Author Multi-media Promotion Service www.chrishigh.com
See Review by
Rafe McGregor
Rafe's own site - www.rafemcgregor.co.uk
No one expects to read their own obituary. Liverpool lawyer Harry Devlin never knew five short lines could be so menacing. When a mutilated female corpse is found on the beach, followed by the death of someone Harry knows, it seems as though a serial killer is at work. Distraction is to hand in the shape of coroner Ceri Hussain, but distractions in lovely packages can be dangerous. Who can he trust when even Liverpool becomes increasingly unfamiliar as it prepares for the Capital of Culture celebrations? Harry must race to uncover the murderer before he faces his own Waterloo sunset.
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Patricia Hall
Death in a Far Country
Pbk published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079878
The dark of the night. Two girls are running for their lives. Terrified, one falls, and unable to get up, she forces her friend to go on without her, to save herself. For her, there is no escape as their attackers close in...The following morning the body of a young girl is found in the canal. DCI Thackeray, recently returned to the force after a bungled kidnapping operation left him near death, is put on the case. But with the entire town's attention focused on the football team's upcoming match against Chelsea, no one seems to be able to tell the police anything about how the girl died, let alone identify her.Thackeray's girlfriend, reporter Laura Ackroyd, also has much to investigate. The appointment of a female chairman at the football club has annoyed many people, in particular the men who dominate the share holders and who will apparently stoop to any depth to force her out. Thackeray and Ackroyd soon discover that their two stories are linked, and the common denominators are the shady dealings of the club's directors and the unsavoury goings on at the infamous post game parties.
But as Laura becomes more and more involved in the case, does she risk putting Thackeray's job and her life in danger?
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Joyce Holms
Hot Potato
Pbk published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749083964
The latest novel in a series featuring lawyer Tam Buchanan and his legal student assistant 'Fizz' Fitzgerald. Whilst driving in the Highlands, Fizz and Tam witness a horrific car crash. They rush to the scene where, before passing away, the driver of the car tells them she was being followed by the police who are trying to kill her passenger. A few minutes later a police car arrives and drives straight at the man forcing him to jump into the fierce river. Convinced the man would have drowned the police leave while Fizz manages to rescue him. The three of them return to their guest house where the man claims to have no recollection of why he was being chased or who might be after him. Yet again, Tam and Fizz find themselves embroiled in a complex and dangerous mystery
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Evan Hunter
Barking at Butterflies
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £17.99
ISBN: 0749006579
See Review by
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries
A collection of short stories from the undisputed master of crime fiction.
Meet cocky young culprit Stevie in 'First Offence', whose cameo behind prison bars is
a bigger role than he has bargained for. In 'Uncle Jimbo's Marbles'', enter the gates of
Camp Marvin, where a bout of marble madness turns into a competition for life and
death. And witness an almost-perfect canine murder in the title story 'Barking at
Butterflies'. These and eight more chilling tales from a master of suspense are
gathered together here for the first time.
Barking at Butterflies and other stories is Evan Hunter at his best, and unfailingly
displays the mastery of language and irony for which he has been dubbed "the
unquestioned king".
Ed McBain is a pen name of Evan Hunter, a writer whose work includes over fifty
87"' Precinct novels, the series that has become the blueprint for every successful
police procedural series. He has won numerous awards including the CWA's
Diamond Dagger Award and the Mystery writers of America Grand Master Award.
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Alison Joseph
Shadow of Death
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079363
'The past weighs heavy upon me, yet have I breathed no word of this to a soul...' Agnes is up to her neck in books. Having been asked to help sort out the library of the nearly defunct Order in Bermondsey before the building is sold, she is trawling through piles of tatty Victoriana and mawkish lives of the saints. However, the seventeenth-century Hawker archive, a collection of beautifully preserved books on spells and magic as well as hand-written journals, does catch her eye.These tell the story of Alice, her husband Nicolas and their son who died in infancy. Alice did not long survive him. Alice's story seems to haunt the present. The building, now an NHS day centre for the mentally ill, is the backdrop for a modern mother's fears for the safety of herself and her child. Agnes is increasingly drawn into the predicament of Tina-Marie and her daughter Leila as well as Alice's narrative. The line between past and present grows hazy as Tina-Marie, like Alice before her, falls prey to the men in her life and depression.
When unexplained and horrible things start happening, culminating in Tina-Marie's murder, Agnes becomes convinced that buyers are after something more than the obvious in the Hawker archives. She realises she must hurry to protect Leila and lay some ghosts to rest.
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Marshall Karp
Bloodthirsty
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £10.99
ISBN: 0749080892
See Review by
Chris High
Chris High - Author Multi-media Promotion Service www.chrishigh.com
Barry Gerber is one of the most powerful - and hated - men in Hollywood. Turning up dead in a garbage can brings him under the eyes of Detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs and his wasn't a pretty way to go. Just two days later another despised actor bad-boy is found murdered in the same sadistic manner. Now, Lomax and Biggs know that there's no business like show business, but that was before the A-Listers were getting killed off like extras. Wading through a list of suspects as long as the credits of the latest blockbuster and a number of leads to match, they have to race to prevent another Hollywood hot-shot getting the cut.
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H.R.F. Keating
Inspector Ghote's First Case
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079703
Newly-promoted Inspector Ghote is thrilled to be granted casual leave until he takes up his post, as it allows him to spend time with his heavily pregnant wife, who is desperate to watch a showing of "Hamlet" at the cinema. Their plans are ruined, however, since Sir Rustom Engineer requires Ghote to investigate the suicide of his friend's wife. Worried about his wife's imminent delivery, Ghote nevertheless travels to the home of Mr. Dawkins, where he is unconvinced by the story of Iris Dawkins' death. Especially when he recognises the officer in charge, Darrani, well-known for his close-mindedness. Ghote is determined to investigate further, with a Hamlet-esque awareness of how deceiving appearances can really be…
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Laurie R. King
The Game
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £18.99
ISBN: 0749006781
It’s the start of the New Year, 1924, and Mary Russell is settling in for a much-needed rest with her husband, Sherlock Holmes. But the fragile peace is fleeting, for a visit to Holmes` gravely ill brother, Mycroft, brings tidings of a new intrigue and sets the pair on their most dangerous exploit yet…
Mycroft received a strange package that contained the papers of a missing English spy named Kimball O’Hara – indeed, the same Kimball who served as the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s famed Kim. After using his cunning to spy for the Crown for many years, Kim has inexplicably withdrawn from the “Great Game” of border espionage. It is feared that he has been taken hostage… or even killed.
Having known Kim some thirty years ago, Holmes embarks on a search for the missing operative – which proves to be the start of a voyage that takes the duo on a perilous journey through sun-drenched India. Traveling incognito as touring magicians, they gather any information they can find. But when a twist of fate forces the couple to part ways, Russell learns that in this faraway place it`s often impossible to tell friend from foe, and that some games must be played out until their deadly end....
An unpredictable and masterfully plotted mystery that brings history to vivid life, The Game is an adventure you won’t want to end.
‘The best King has yet devised for her strong-willed heroine… The sights, smells and ideas of India make interesting, evocative reading in this exotic masala of a book’ Publishers’ Weekly
‘Fabulous reading, breathless excitement, and the myriad pleasures of watching great minds at work’
Booklist
‘Mary Russell is never less than fascinating company’ Los Angeles Times
‘Intelligent, witty, complex and atmospheric. Spell binding’ The Washington Post
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Alanna Knight
The Gowrie Conspiracy
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £17.99
ISBN: 0749006277
See Review by
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries
July 1600, Falkland Palace, Fife. King James and his court are looking to the future; his wife, Anne, is pregnant with their fourth child and James’s dream of uniting the crowns of England and Scotland looks set to become reality as the long reign of his godmother Elizabeth of England draws to its close. But for some, attentions are focused elsewhere. Rumours about a hidden secret from James’s past are circulating around the court – a secret that could put the King and members of the court in danger.
After rescuing King James from a runaway horse, the enigmatic Tam Eildor finds himself within favour at the court. When Margaret Agnew, the Queen’s midwife, is found murdered Tam and his good friend Tansy Scott set about to discover who attacked her and why. But as the King’s new object of affection Tam has become the target for jealous courtiers and their attentions are seriously hampering his investigations.
Why has Margaret Agnew been murdered? There seems to be no motive for the crime. Could it simply be a case of mistaken identity and if so is Tansy’s life under threat? Is the disappearance of Margaret’s lover significant and could her death be related to James’s mysterious secret? What is certain is that dangerous forces are at work, forces that will lead the King away from the palace and to Gowrie House in Perth, into the heart of a mystery that puzzles historians today…
Atmospheric and compelling, The Gowrie Conspiracy is the second novel in the gripping historical series featuring Tam Eildor.
Praise for Alanna Knight’s The Dagger in the Crown:
‘Taut with tension and an air of authority that stems from Knight’s expertise in Scottish History’ Irish Times
‘I was hooked - a tale based on the life of Mary Queen of Scots but had all the mystery and intrigue of any Kathy Reichs or PD James story’ Peterborough Evening Telegraph
‘An enticing prospect, a well-researched atmospheric novel which recreates a key period in British history to perfection and tells a sinister and inexorable tale... Tam Eildor is a fascinating creation’ Sherlock Holmes Magazine
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Deryn Lake
Death in the Setting Sun: A John Rawlings Mystery
Pbk published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749082909
John Rawlings has never been happier. His apothecary business is doing well and he is blissfully content with his charming wife and adorable little daughter. Little does he know that his settled life is soon to be tragically shaken off course...An evening out at an illustrious theatre party at Gunnersbury House, hosted by Princess Amelia, ends in tragedy when a guest is discovered murdered. Suspicion falls upon John Rawlings when he is found crouched over the inert figure. Despite his protestations of innocence, many at the scene, including the royally powerful Princess Amelia, believe John is the murderer and he is forced to go into hiding. John and his closest friends desperately try to delve through the layers of deception to uncover the truth, whilst struggling to come to terms with their own grief. Countless adventures teach him it is not always easy to tell friend from foe and there are far more late night dealings at Gunnersbury House than he at first expects. But somewhere the vicious figure of the murderer is lurking and it is up to John to determine their identity before they strike again…
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Roy Lewis
Guardian of the Dead (Eric Ward Mystery)
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749080698
As executor of Colonel Delamere's estate, Eric Ward is required to deliver to the Foreign Office a sealed envelope and an Anubis statuette in the event of the Colonel's death. But Delamere dies at the hands of burglars and the statuette, passed through the hands of the archaeologist Howard Carter and various wealthy English families, is taken. This mysterious and allegedly cursed statuette becomes the subject of an intense search by several shady parties. Within it are contained documents that could change the course of the Middle Eastern peaces process and challenge the legality of the State of Israel.Yemeni immigrants known as the Sand Dancers want the documents to become public knowledge; an Israeli secret agent and the Foreign Office have their own reasons for keeping the documents suppressed. Caught in the middle is Eric Ward who simply wants to carry out his friend's dying wishes. Who will reach the unsuspecting thieves first, and will Ward's private detection skills be enough in the face of the competing Middle Eastern factions? This is a thrilling and topical addition to the popular Eric Ward series.
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Frederic Lindsay
The Stranger from Home
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749080132
DI Jim Meldrum’s daughter, Betty, is swept off her feet by a handsome man and the whirlwind romance quickly culminates in marriage. But what are the secrets he is hiding? Handsome and rich, but still a mystery, has Betty married a monster? Meanwhile, back in Edinburgh, Jim Meldrum is feeling the strain of working on a high profile case. A businessman’s wife is missing and, Jim suspects, has become a victim of foul-play.
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Edward Marston
The Iron Horse (Inspector Robert Colbeck)
Pbk published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £7.99
ISBN: 0749079150
`Historical crime writing of the first order, replete with
authentic period detail, a vivid cast of characters , and a
plot that makes for compulsive reading'
Good Book Guide
`The past is brought to life with brilliant colours, combined
with a perfect whodunit. Who needs more?'
Guardian
Derby Day at Epsom Downs. A multitude of people crowd
to watch the races: dukes and dustmen, bishops and
beggars, privileged ladies and prostitutes. The gamut of
Victorian society and a hotbed for crime and crooks of all
kinds.
With the nation a-flutter in the run up to this national
event, a disembodied head is discovered on a passenger
train at Crewe; the first in a murky course of events that
takes in murder, fraud and race-fixing. Detective Inspector
Robert Colbeck and his assistant are assigned to the
case and are soon snarled up in a web of skulduggery
stretching across the country. They are forced to ask
themselves, just how much is someone prepared to
hazard to win?
Edward Marston Was born and brought up in South Wales.
A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in
radio, film, television and the theatre, and is a former
chairman of the Crime Writers' Association. Prolific and
highly successful, he is equally at home writing children's
books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and settings
for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf
to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. The Iron Horse
is the fourth book in the series featuring Inspector Robert
Colbeck and Sergeant Victor Leeming, set in 1850s London.
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Edward Marston
Brighton Express, The (Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck)
Published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079452
October 1854. As an autumnal evening draws to a close, crowds of passengers rush onto the soon to depart London to Brighton Express. A man watches from shadows nearby, grimly satisfied when the train pulls out of the station...Chaos, fatalities and unbelievable destruction are the scene soon after when the train derails on the last leg of its journey. What led to such devastation, and could it simply be a case of driver error? Detective Inspector Colbeck, dubbed the 'railway detective' thinks not. But digging deep to discover the target of the accident takes time, something Colbeck doesn't have as the killer prepares to strike again.
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Priscilla Masters
Wings Over the Watcher
Published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £18.99
ISBN: 0749082127
Artwork by: Cover design © 2005 The Old Tin Dod Design Co
See Review by
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series
Discover distinguished crime writers at A & B. In separate locations in Leek, Staffordshire, three separate tableaux are being performed. DI Joanna Piercy is writing to her lover Matthew to try and explain recent events; her sidekick Mike Korpanski is filling in his insurance form after his wife has had a minor prang in the car; and an unknown person is penning love letters to a local doctor. It seems that no one could lead a more mundane life than Beatrice Pennington, a woman who joins Joanna's cycling club, anxious to regain her figure by dieting and keeping fit. Unexciting; mid-forties; married; a part-time librarian; grown-up kids; her life appears unremarkable. But weeks later a drama unfolds around her. A month after Beatrice begins her quest for health and glamour her distraught husband arrives at the police station to report her missing. At first Joanna assumes Beatrice has decamped with another man. Evidence certainly seems to point this way. But as Joanna begins to peel back the layers of Beatrice's seemingly uneventful life she begins to realise: Beatrice was no ordinary woman.
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Priscilla Masters
The Watchful Eye
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079959
Dr Daniel Gregory is a GP in a picturesque Mid-Staffordshire market town. Divorced and denied visiting rights to his seven year-old daughter, he is lonely and vulnerable to the dysfunctional behaviour of some of the locals. Like Vanda Struel, a single parent who repeatedly brings her toddler into the surgery with a succession of increasingly bizarre complaints. Or Chelsea Emmanuel, a precocious teenager who makes advances to him only to plan pathological revenge when he refuses. Or the fatally damaged town policeman, who suspects Daniel of harbouring an unhealthy attraction for his French wife...When an elderly woman patient is mistakenly given a terminal diagnosis, Vanda becomes pregnant with her second child and Daniel's own possessive mother arrives on the scene, things head inexorably towards the final breaking point.
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Ken McClure
Loser (Sam Carew)
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749080841
A dead lawyer, a stolen Rembrandt, a beaten ex-girlfriend, a confused golfing syndicate, a violent gypsy mob, and a bloodied 3 iron. So begins the new Sam Carew mystery. A lawyer is found bludgeoned to death by a golf club in his own home and when Jim Omerod is fingered as the killer his wife, an ex girlfriend of Sam's has no where else to turn. Sam believes Jim to be innocent but his investigation is delayed as he makes enemies with the local travellers by hospitalizing three of them and has to help escort a valuable painting across to Unsworth from Amsterdam.
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Ken McCoy
Hammerhead. Sam Carew S
Pbk published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080744
Ken McCoy was born in wartime Leeds and has lived in Yorkshire all his life. He ran his own building company for twenty-five years, during which time he worked as a freelance artist, and after-dinner entertainer. He has appeared on TV, radio and the stage. Married with five children, he is now a full-time writer and the author of six previous novels published by Piatkus.
Sam 'Mad' Carew is safe and bored. When a beautiful woman asks for his help, he can not help but be intrigued. It turns out that in his old job as a copper, Sam helped put away her father for murder. Even then Sam had his suspicions as to Kevin Kilpatrick's guilt but as the man confessed to both the violent murders for which he was accused, that was it, case closed. Nine years into two successive life sentences, Kilpatrick is still keeping schtum. His daughter, the delectable Alison, adamantly refuses to believe in her father's guilt and, using every womanly wile, encourages Sam to investigate. A recent spate of murders, using a similar method as that used on one of Kilpatrick's supposed victims, convinces Sam she may have a point. However, he doesn't bargain on getting mixed up with one of the most ruthless and sadistic crime families in the country. The Robinson clan has its fingers in every pie: prostitution, drug rackets and blackmail are just some of their illegal enterprises, all hidden behind an innocent building supplies front. But what is their connection to the seemingly random murders? And who are the beautiful women the victims are reported to have been seen with before their untimely demise? The police at Unsworth nick are as obstructive as ever, and as Sam's relationship with DCI Bowman rapidly deteriorates he finds himself relying on the clandestine but reluctant assistance of his good friend, DC Owen Price. As the body count racks up, Sam realises he'll have to take his chances and come face to face with the killer - the elusive and aptly named 'Hammerhead' - to knock this one on the head.
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Mulgray Twins
No Suspicious Circumstances
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080590
Meet the cat that got the crook...
It's tough going undercover for HM Revenue
& Customs, but DJ Smith has a little help from
her trained sniffer cat Gorgonzola, a moth-
eaten Persian with gourmet tastes. This first
investigation finds DJ and Gorgonzola on the
trail of a heroin smuggling ring operating in and
around Edinburgh. Soon DJ is forced to ask the
question: who specialises in making murder
look like an accident? As the action climaxes it
seems that a real cat and mouse game has only
just begun...
Identical twins Helen and Morna Mulgray have lived together
from the moment they were placed end to end beside a radiator
in an Edinburgh nursing home. They have pursued an identical
career path, and after retiring from teaching, now live and write
together. They also love to travel when they are not writing
mysteries at home in Edinburgh.
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Mulgray Twins
Under Suspicion
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079754
When a Customs and Revenues Officer on the brink of exposing a huge money-laundering outfit is murdered in Tenerife, there is only one team capable of ensuring Operation Canary Creeper's continuance and success. DJ Smith must use all of her cunning and experience to trap the devious Ambrose Vanheusen; her greatest asset, however, comes in the moth-eaten shape of her Persian cat Gorgonzola, since Vanheusen's one weakness is his love of the breed.Going undercover as a PA for Vanheusen's company Exclusive, retailer of luxury homes and suspected front for darker purposes, DJ is in charge of organising excursions for the prospective purchasers - some are innocently enjoying their holidays, but are others complicit in Vanheusen's schemes. Pompous writer Rudyard Scott, elderly Victoria Knight...something about Millie Prentice doesn't seem to add up, and Deborah is instantly antagonistic towards the arrogant Herbert G. Wainwright III…
Disguises, cat-fights and narrow escapes make "Under Suspicion" a fast-paced and funny return to DJ and Gorgonzola on their follow-up mission to No Suspicious Circumstances.
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Stuart Pawson
Chill Factor
Pbk published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749005491
Artwork by: Cover design: © boxharry.com
When salesman Tony Silkstone confesses to murder the top brass of the Heckley
police are keen to convict and close the lurid case. But Detective Inspector Charlie
Priest is not convinced that things are as simple as they seem.
A hitman turns up in town, a juvenile car thief wreaks havoc and Charlie complicates
matters further when he starts dating one of his colleagues. As links between his case
and another murder emerge, Charlie pursues the trail and finds himself faced with
questions about his own friends and his feelings towards them.
Praise for Stuart Pawson:
`Pawson is very much an author to keep one's eye on in future.' Birmingham Post
`An intellectual and earthy detective, Charlie Priest could well become for
Yorkshire what Wycliffe is for Cornwall.' Publishing News
`One of Yorkshire's best-kept secrets. Highly recommended.' Crime Time
`The story far outranks the usual police procedural.' Yorkshire Post
Stuart Pawson had a career as a mining engineer, followed by a spell working for the
probation service, before he became a full-time writer. Fie lives in Fairburn,
Yorkshire, and when not hunched over the word processor likes nothing more than
tramping across the moors which often feature in his stories.
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Stuart Pawson
Grief Encounters (DI Charlie Priest Mystery)
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079029
Magdalena is a woman from DI Charlie Priest's past, who comes very much to the forefront of his present when her lifeless, broken and battered body is found. The one identifying feature is the tattoo on her buttock; Property of the Pope. But who is this Pope and did he want to make Magdalena his possession even in death? And what about the recent spate of incidents that have left several influential members of the community with tarnished reputations and, in one case, dead? Were they just heading for a fall, or is there a vendetta, a nasty game, afoot? Whatever is going on, Charlie is right in the middle of it as usual.
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Mike Ripley
Angels Unaware
Published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749080833
Private detective Fitzroy Maclean Angel is not your ordinary private detective. The world he inhabits is strange and it is about to get stranger. A new born baby means no more cases, no more fingerprinting and no more espionage and, with the arrival of his aging, hippy mother, he has swapped bloodstains for paint stains. Domesticity, or the lack of it, has replaced his high-paced, crime-solving lifestyle. That is, of course, apart from the AWOL screenwriter whose mother's funeral he must attend.
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Zoe Sharp
Second Shot
Pbk published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 074908099X
Lee Child
'Scarily good. Today's best action heroine is back with a bang.
Cross your fingers and toes that she survives for future adventures -
you definitely want her to'
Ken Bruen
'Charlie Fox is fast becoming the must-read heroine of mystery...
The narrative moves like a banshee on speed...with a marvellous twist that
I never saw coming'
Stephen Booth
'Zoë Sharp is one of the brightest of the new generation of
British crime writers'
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Zoe Sharp
Third Strike
Published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £19.99
ISBN: 0749079657
Bodyguard and ex-Special Forces soldier, Charlie Fox is recovering from being shot on her previous assignment and is itching to go back to work. It is while she is receiving the last of her physio that Charlie's life in the slow lane picks up a gear. She sees her austere father fending off accusations of murder from reporters on the local news. What is worse, Mr. Foxcroft doesn't seem to be denying the accusations. Charlie knows that something is wrong and vows to get to the bottom of it. What she discovers is startling and propels Charlie head first into the firing line - again. Her father is being set up, made to look like a drunken lecher as well as a murderer. Someone is ruining his credibility, but for what end? Charlie realises she has to investigate; the only trouble is it means spending quality time with her parents.
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Cath Staincliffe
Missing
Pbk published June 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079355
See Review by
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series
Finders keepers, Losers weepers... 'Back in June, the same week that I'd just found one person, two more went missing. None of them related. The only connection was me; Sal Kilkenny, my job; private investigator. And finding people seemed to be the flavour of the month.' Janet Florin has been gone for almost a week. Her husband, Mark, reported her missing when she failed to collect their two young children from school and a family friend, Trisha Marlowe, desperate for news of Janet, hires Sal to track her down. What could possibly have led Janet to abandon everything she holds dear? Ramin's brother, Berfan, is missing, too. A failed asylum seeker, likely to be returned to Iran, has he disappeared to escape deportation? His brother says not. And when Sal hears that Berfan has been seen in Manchester, the chances of finding him look promising. Sal has already traced Bob Swithinbank's birth-mother, though whether Sandra Patefield will ever agree to meet Bob is another matter... Meanwhile, as the summer kicks into gear, the temperature is notched up on the domestic front when Sal's housemate, Ray, wants to share much more than just the chores. Sal Kilkenny is back in this eagerly awaited new novel about separation, secrets and the search for truth.
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Richard Stark
Point Blank
Pbk published April 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749079614
The hunted becomes the hunter. Meet Parker, the ultimate professional. Parker is a master thief, and a man with a heart of steel. He believes in the oldest law of all - a life for a life. His one-time partner, Mal, tried to pull a fast one, making off with Parker's share of the takings after a successful heist, as well as his Parker's wife, Lynn. Big mistake. They thought they had left him for dead, but Parker survived their bullets and now he's out for revenge and prepared to do whatever it takes. The prey has become the hunter, and now Parker is stalking them, leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. Haunting and brutal, "Point Blank" was made into the cult classic movie starring Lee Marvin, and remains one of the most distinctive crime thrillers ever written.
Richard Stark is the pseudonym of bestseller Donald Westlake. The sixteen 'Parke
novels were written between 1962 and 1973, many of them were filmed, includin The
Jugger, The Split, Slayground and The Outfit. Point Blank was filmed with Le
Marvin as Parker.
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Rebecca Tope
Death in the Cotswolds
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080647
Thea Osbourne is thanking her lucky stars. After two disastrous housesitting incidents in which she unwittingly became embroiled in murder and mayhem, she is only too happy to have a bit of peace and quiet. The only positive thing that came out of her experiences, she thinks, is her blossoming relationship with DI Phil Hollis and she relishes the thought of their spending some quality time together while she helps him clear out his late aunt's cottage in the small village in which he grew up. Even meeting Phil's childhood acquaintance, the eccentric Ariadne with her abrupt manner and queer habits, can not detract from Thea's happiness. But the bad luck that plagues the hapless Thea and her beloved spaniel Hepzipah is never far away. With autumn drawing in, preparations for Samhain, or Halloween, are well underway when Ariadne discovers a very tangible reminder of the season of death on Notgrove Barrow: a body laid out like a sacrificial victim. Unlikely companions, Thea and Ariadne find themselves thrown together as they try to uncover the events that led to the fatality. It soon becomes apparent that the cosy village has more than its share of secrets. But, just how far will some go to keep them hidden...
An intriguing mystery set against the captivating backdrop of the Cotswolds, the third in Rebecca Tope's successful series is the perfect book for any crime lover.
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Christopher West
Death of a Blue Lantern
Pbk published May 2008 by Allison Busby at £6.99
ISBN: 0749080345
See Review by
Rafe McGregor
Rafe's own site - www.rafemcgregor.co.uk
An Inspector Wang' Mystery
Beijing, 1991. A night out at the People's Opera. But instead, Wang finds himself with a murder victim an his hands - a young man who has slipped through the net of China's relentless mass surveillance system. His investigations lead the inspector into the secret world of Beijing's renascent Triads and Communist Party politics and into an increasing conflict between duty and conscience, as
events come to a climax on a remote mountainside where one slip can mean death....
'Everything one can ask for in a crime novel - pace, excitement and a skilfully contrasted cast of characters' Simon Brett
'The ambivalent morality of modern China is intelligently exposed, but not at the expense of a first-class crime story' Marcel Berlins. The Times
'Wang is, I think, destined to be one of the great fictional detectives' James Melville
Christopher West was born in Germany in 1954. He did a variety of jobs before going to the LSE as a mature student where he obtained a First in philosophy. He then travelled to China: on returning, he wrote Journey to the Middle Kingdom (to be published in paperback by A&B in July 1999). This was followed by Death of a Blue Lantern, his first mystery featuring Inspector Wang. Death on Black Dragon River and Death of a Red Mandarin (set in Hong Kong at the time of the 1997 handover) followed, and he is now writing a fourth Inspector Wang novel. Christopher West lives in Norwich.
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