August 2024
The Last Visitor is by
Martin Griffin. The island was abandoned for fifty years. So how did the body
get there? Five-hundred kilometres from land in the middle of Atlantic Ocean
lies Navigaceo. A tiny island that was hastily abandoned fifty years ago and
has been uninhabited ever since. Until now. Tess Macfarlane is a documentary
filmmaker tasked with capturing the wild beauty of Navigaceo. Accompanied by a
small team of researchers, her job is to film everything she sees. But Tess
sees too much: a body. It's clearly recent. It shouldn't be there. And the
victim is wearing the same expedition uniform as her colleagues. Someone has
been here already and everyone on the team is a suspect. More than one of them
could be a murderer. With five days until they are returned to the mainland,
Tess must be careful, or hers might be the next body found on the shore.
Una has always been more comfortable working with numbers than people. As an actuary for an insurance company, her job is to spot patterns that other people might miss. When the data for her latest project - into the predicted number of deaths in seaside resorts - shows a blip in her forecasts, Una's untarnished reputation at work is at risk. That is, unless she can work out why there's been an unusual spate of accidental deaths by the coast. Death by Hanging Basket? She's not seen that before. Where better to begin than her mother's hometown of Eastbourne, where strange fatalities are befalling her mother's bingo crowd. But as Una puts her spreadsheets aside and begins to investigate, a sinister pattern begins to emerge and she realises that there is nothing accidental about these casualties . . .Can Una stop the killer in this small seaside town, before she becomes a not-so-vital statistic? Death by Numbers is by Jo Cunningham.
The Weekend Guests is
by Liza North. Five old friends. A reunion to die for… A weekend on the wild,
beautiful Dorset coast. Seven adults, six kids. A nanny: the ultimate special
treat. It should be perfect: old friends, a stunning house, champagne and
windswept beaches. But it isn't. Past grudges won't rest. Secrets won't stay
put. And by the end of the weekend, at least one of them will be dead.
Despite many years
living in South Devon, DI Wesley Peterson has never visited the tiny island of
St Rumon's. That is until erosion from a storm reveals three bodies buried
outside the local churchyard. Two are ancient skeletons, but one is far more
recent, and Wesley realises he has uncovered a case of murder. But whose
remains are they? And who killed them? The island has only a small number of
inhabitants. Yet one resident keeps cropping up in Wesley's investigation: the
author and self-styled academic, Quentin Search. Meanwhile Wesley's friend,
archaeologist Neil Watson, becomes fascinated by the remains of the island's
old priory. His discovery of a journal, written by a sixteenth century cleric,
reveals an eerie tale of strange rituals and disturbing deaths. As Wesley
begins to wonder whether the past might be repeating itself, another murder
occurs . . . There is a calculated killer on the island - one whose grip is as
deadly as the rising tide. Coffin Island is by Kate Ellis.
September 2024
The Great Hippopotamus
Hotel is by Alexander McCall Smooth. A chance meeting with the manager of The
Great Hippopotamus Hotel leads the much-admired and traditionally built
Precious Ramotswe to investigate what is going wrong with this previously
successful country hotel. Guests have been unwell, clothing has disappeared
from the washing line, and scorpions have found their way into the guest
bedrooms. Mma Ramotswe drives out to the hotel with her irrepressible
colleague, Grace Makutsi (97 per cent in the final examinations of the Botswana
Secretarial College). What they find there are family conflicts that only the
investigators of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency will be able to resolve. Meanwhile,
at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Mma Ramotswe's husband, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni,
gets a visit from a middle-aged client who wants to purchase a fast Italian
sports car. What should the conscientious garagiste do in such
circumstances? Should the client's wife be told? Mma Ramotswe is used to
wrestling with such tricky questions, but it is harder for Mr J.L.B. Matekoni.
The Serial Killer
Next Door is by Emma Kenny. Would you know if you lived next door to a serial
killer? Based on her smash hit tour, Emma Kenny - psychologist and true crime
expert - reveals the chilling true stories of killers who hide in plain sight. Taking
readers on a journey into the dark side of humanity, Emma Kenny explores the
ingredient list of experiences that turns regular people into murderous
monsters, looking at crimes that shook the world. From Ted Bundy to Joanna
Dennehy, Richard Trenton Chase to Aileen Wuornos and many more besides, Emma
explores the crime scenes and criminal minds of some of the most notorious
serial killers of our time. She also unveils shocking stories of lesser-known
killers that even the most dedicated true crime fan will be surprised by. What
unites all of these killers is the ability to slip into society. They look just
like you and me. Some were married or parents, conscientious neighbours,
teachers or fixtures of their community. Join Emma in this compelling exposé of
their depraved world to understand what motivates them and what they look for
in a victim. Then maybe you'll be able to spot the serial killer next door...
Welcome to Aberfal
Boys High School. Independent jewel of academic and sporting excellence in the
South-west -- until the headmaster is murdered in his study. And now the Year
Seven School Mums' WhatsApp Group really do have something to talk about...
Clare Withoutani: OMG
have you heard about Newhall?!!!
Becky Rupertsmum:
Helen-Louise just texted. Can't believe it.
Asha: Not heard
anything. What's happened?
Pam Geoffreysmum:
What's he done this time? They're going co-ed, aren't they? I knew this would
happen.
Clare Withoutani:
Can't believe it, Becky. I'm in shock.
Pam Geoffreysmum: Are
we going co-ed?
Becky Rupertsmum: No,
Pam. Newhall died.
Pam Geoffreysmum: Oh
GOD. Seriously??!! Can't believe it. So sad. He'll be such a loss to the
school. The boys will be devastated. Will the school be offering grief
counselling?
Rose Oliversmum:
Anyone know what pages they're meant to do for chemistry
Ollie's homework
diary says 'do questions 1-4' but no page numbers!
As the resulting
police investigation reveals more and more of Aberfal's long-hidden secrets the
list of suspects who wanted the headmaster dead grows by the day. And far from
being a glittering jewel of exclusivity and excellence, it would appear Aberfal
Boys High School is rotten to its core… One Bad Apple is by Jo Jakeman
Because She Looked Away is by Alison Bruce. After the sudden death of her sister, devastated detective DS Ronnie Blake relocates to Cambridge to help her brother Alex raise their sister's young son, Noah. She reports for her first day but instead finds herself being questioned by a special investigations unit, nicknamed the DEAD Team. With a small group of six, led by DI Fenton, the once-successful DEAD team has a single outstanding case, Operation Byron, and the failure to resolve it threatens the unit's existence. Their most promising lead is an anonymous note linking three seemingly unconnected people: a convicted fraudster, a dead academic... and Ronnie's sister Jodie. When Ronnie is denied information about Operation Byron, she follows a lead slipped to her by Malachi, the youngest member of the team, and makes a discovery which links Operation Byron to a disturbing unsolved murder. She is rapidly drawn into an intricate web of deceit, buried secrets and tragedy and the discovery that her connection to Cambridge is far darker than she could ever have guessed.
Passion in Death is
by J D Robb. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer On a hot August
night, Lt. Eve Dallas is called to a downtown club, where a joint bachelorette
party full of love, friendship and laughter has taken a darker turn and ended
in a crime scene. One of the brides has been garrotted in a private room and
lies dead in a pool of blood. Shauna and Erin are celebrating their joint
bachelorette party, living their best lives with a group of their girlfriends,
drinking and dancing. Erin is planning a surprise honeymoon for Shauna to Maui
– her dream holiday destination – but Erin will never have the chance to tell
her fiancée about the surprise because on this – the best night of their lives
– a killer lies in wait . . . The brutal murder scene was just seconds from the
packed dance floor but despite the dozens of people present, useful witnesses
prove hard to come by. Someone must know something, but no one is talking. On
the surface the two brides had a supportive, tightknit group of friends but
when Eve starts to dig below the surface, she discovers that everything may not
be quite as it seems....
October 2024
Summoned to an unnerving,
abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr Kay Scarpetta is devastated to
learn that the victim is a man she once loved. While teaching in Rome during
the early days of her career, Scarpetta had a love affair with acclaimed astrophysicist
Sal Giordano that led to a lifelong friendship. The murder scene is bizarre,
with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano's skin is strangely
red. Scarpetta's niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying
craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead's secrets, but she is
shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue. As the
investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of
Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her
mind, is far more evil . . . Identity Unknown is by Patricia
Cornwell.
The Last One at the
Wedding is by Jason Rekulak. The guests are arriving, and the celebrations are
starting. But there's something strange about this wedding... Frank Szatowski
hasn't seen his daughter Maggie in years, and it breaks his heart every day. So
when she calls him out of the blue, to tell him that she's getting married and
he's invited, Frank is overjoyed. Maggie is marrying into one of the richest
families in the country, and Frank finds himself overwhelmed by the social
circle she now moves in. He'll do anything to reconnect, though, and arrives at
their New Hampshire estate ready to bond however he can with Maggie's in-laws. But
as the wedding weekend gets underway, it becomes clear to Frank that although
they have spared no expense, there's something strange about Maggie's fiancé.
And maybe he shouldn't be celebrating just yet...
Agatha Raisin:
Killing Time is by M C Beaton with R W Green Life is never, ever dull in Agatha
Raisin's sleepy Cotswolds village! Agatha Raisin's private detective agency is
working flat out on a series of burglaries which take a violent turn when a
friend of Agatha's is murdered during a raid on his antiques shop. Although
determined to nail the villains, Agatha still makes time to help Sir Charles
Fraith prepare to stage a massive, hugely glamorous event in the grounds of his
ancestral home, Barfield House. When Agatha begins to receive death threats and
narrowly avoids being abducted by kidnappers, she takes advantage of a
previously arranged trip to Majorca to lie low for a while. There she meets her
partner, former police officer John Glass, who is now working as a dance
instructor on a cruise liner. Their relationship founders over John's apparent
closeness to his stage dance partner, Louise. Putting her love life on hold,
Agatha heads home, having worked out who has been threatening her life. Can
Agatha track down the would-be killer, nail her friend's murderers and rescue
her romance with John? Everything comes to a climax at the Barfield
Extravaganza when on top of everything else, Agatha also manages to solve a
400-year-old Cotswold murder mystery!
The man who can't
feel fear is back, in a race against time to find the woman who knows a secret
that could take down the world as we know it. When a shocking murder and
abduction on the streets of London leads investigators to him, Ben Koenig has
no idea at first why the highest echelons of the CIA would need his help. But
then he realises he knows the woman who carried out the killings. Ten years
earlier, without being told why, he was tasked with helping her disappear. Far from being a deranged killer, she is the gatekeeper of a secret that could
take down the West, so for years she has been in hiding. Until now. And if she
has resurfaced, the danger may be closer and more terrifying than anyone can
imagine. So Ben Koenig has to find her before it's too late. But Ben suffers
from a syndrome which means he can't feel fear. He doesn't always know when he
should walk away, or when he's leading others into danger . . . Nobody’s Hero
is by M W Craven
November 2024
Mercy has a cost. Time for Victor
to pay. Assassin-for-hire Victor is in Bucharest, Romania, to kill two targets
meeting to exchange stolen intelligence his client wants back. It should be a
simple task - until he realises the second of his targets is a former ally.
Even for a man of Victor's twisted morality, he's not prepared to kill someone
to whom he owes his life. To atone for not completing the job, Victor agrees to
take on the kind of dangerous assignment he would otherwise avoid. At a
conference on international relations, he must identify and assassinate a
killer just like him and remain unseen, despite a guest list of spies,
dignitaries, and security experts. Even for an elite professional, the job is a
tall order - which is why he looks for help from the person whose life he
spared in Romania. Yet unbeknownst to Victor, the Bucharest contract stepped on
the toes of powerful enemies from his past; enemies who now know exactly where
to find him . . . Fire Fight is by Tom Wood.
Traitor is by Roberta
Kray. She sold him out. Now he's out for revenge . . . After her
murderous ex-boyfriend who she turned into the police was released from prison,
Jem Byrne fled to London, desperate to hide herself in the hustle of the big
city. Now she spends every day watching her back, waiting for him to catch up
with her. But The Mansfield estate is far from a safe place to hide, and Jem
soon learns she's only ever one wrong move away from being found out -
and sold out. Private Investigator Harry Lind makes a living
out of other people's secrets. When he meets Jem, he can tell she's hiding
something big and he's desperate to find out what. But his talents have already
been enlisted by another: an aging mother hoping to discover the truth about
her daughter's disappearance fifty years earlier. There's also the two kids
from The Mansfield pestering him to find their missing dad. Could Jem be the
key to cracking both cases?
Against the Grain is
by Peter Lovesey. When his former deputy, Julie, invites Detective Peter
Diamond and his partner Paloma to spend a week at her home in the depths of
rural Somerset, Diamond is horrified. What could be worse than seven days in
the back end of nowhere with nothing to do? But it turns out that Julie has an
ulterior motive. A local woman is doing time for manslaughter after a wild
party ended in a tragic accident: a man suffocated in a silo of grain. Nobody
in the village has much sympathy for Claudia, the unruly daughter of a wealthy
local farmer. Nobody that is, except Julie, who is convinced there's more to
this case than there appears and wants her former boss to investigate. And as
Diamond tests his skills as an amateur sleuth, he soon discovers that the
countryside isn't quite so dull as he'd anticipated. And then there's
Philip, The Mansfield Estate's newest resident. He's lurking in the shadows,
watching it all unfold. Or is he doing more than just watching?
One murder mystery
movie. Three Dahlias. And a whole cast of suspects... Ex child star Posy
Starling is finally filming her dream role - Dahlia Lively in The Lady
Detective movie. But things take a nightmare turn when a prop weapon
is replaced with the real thing - with almost fatal consequences for her fellow
Dahlia, Rosalind King. There's something very wrong on the set of The
Lady Detective - which means it's time to call in Caro Hooper, so the
three Dahlias can investigate. In between filming scenes, signing autographs
for locals, photoshoots on set and jetting off to France for an impromptu
party, the three Dahlias do what they do best - surreptitiously sleuth. And
very soon the evidence starts to point towards one particular co-star... But
before they can prove it, a murder rocks the production. And this time, with a
storm raging, the river flooded, and the bridge washed out, there are no police
to rely on so it's up to the three Dahlias to stop a murderer in their
tracks... before another victim is claimed. A Lively Midwinter Murder is by
Katy Watson.
Dead Cold is by T F
Muir. St Andrews, Scotland: When a woman's eviscerated body is found on the
golf course close to the Fairmont Hotel, DCI Andy Gilchrist and his associate
DS Jessie Janes are assigned the investigation. But the postmortem examination
uncovers a shocking detail that must be kept from the public. Who could carry
out such a brutal murder? And what is the significance of the gruesome trophy? But
DNA uncovers links to a murder committed thirty years earlier and has Gilchrist
fearing a killer of old has resurfaced, or worse, a debut serial killer setting
out to learn his murderous trade. The hunt for the killer forces Gilchrist down
a dangerous path that puts his and Jessie's life in danger, and ultimately leads
them to a mind-playing madman who will kill again rather than go to prison. As
Gilchrist homes in on the murderer, he finds himself relentlessly drawn into
the killer's mind games, and a desperate fight for his life, in which there can
only be one winner. Has Gilchrist finally met his match?
A Fatal Feast at Honeychurch
Hall is by Hannah Dennison. When Eric Pugsley, who runs the unsightly scrapyard
on the Honeychurch Hall estate, brings home his Turkish fiancée, everyone is
delighted -- even if the marriage does seem to include her feisty mother who is
never without a Terkel cigarette dangling from her lips. A Safari Supper at the
Hall is held in their honour, but trouble begins when somewhere between the
first course and dessert, one of the villagers goes missing and is later found
drowned in the estate's ornamental lake. Rumours of foul play abound, given
that competition is fierce to clinch the Honeychurch Challenge Cup at the
upcoming Flower Festival, where sabotage has already come into play - earlier
in the week someone released a herd of goats into the village allotments, where
of the planned entries were eaten. But things take a sinister turn when Eric
asks Kat to value the bride-to-be's 19th century Etruscan engagement ring only
to be told that historically it is used for poison - hardly an appropriate
choice for love but Eric is adamant it's what his fiancée wants. And then a
second body is found... unearthing a hotbed of sabotage, blackmail, and old
grudges.
