Music of the Night is a new anthology of original short stories contributed by Crime Writers' Association (CWA) members and edited by Martin Edwards, with music as the connecting theme. The aim, as always, is to produce a book which is representative both of the genre and the membership of the world’s premier crime writing association.
The CWA has published anthologies of members’ stories in most years since 1956, with Martin Edwards as editor for over 25 years, during which time the anthologies have yielded many award-winning and nominated stories by writers such as Ian Rankin, Reginald Hill, Lawrence Block, and Edward D. Hoch. Stories by long-standing authors and stellar names sit alongside contributions from relative newcomers, authors from overseas, and members whose work haven’t appeared in a CWA anthology before.
A nightmare jolts Debs awake. She leaves the kids tucked up in their beds and goes downstairs. There's a man in her kitchen, holding a knife. But it's not an intruder. This is her husband Marc, the father of her children. A man she no longer recognises.
Once their differences were what drew them together, what turned them on. Him, the ex-army officer from a good family. Her, the fitness instructor who grew up over a pub. But now these differences grate to the point of drawing blood. Marc screams in his sleep. And Debs hardly knows the person she's become, or why she lets him hurt her.
Neither of them is completely innocent. Neither is totally guilty. Marc is taller, stronger, and more vicious, haunted by a war he can't forget. But he has no idea what Debs is capable of when her children's lives are at stake...
A powerful exploration of a relationship built on passion, poisoned by secrets and violence. Perfect for readers of Blood Orange and Big Little Lies.
"Coroner Cragg. You think you can find out what happened at this house? You are mistaken. You can never find out."
November, 1747. County Coroner Titus Cragg has been called to the scene of a gruesome slaughter at a rural farmhouse: a mother and her four children brutally murdered in their own home. Were they killed by the man who should have protected them: their husband and father? And what role is played by the peculiar religious cult the family belongs to? Perhaps the mute boy who lives in the dog kennel knows the truth.
Meanwhile, Titus's friend Dr Luke Fidelis is a guest of wealthy landowner and local magistrate John Blackburne at nearby Orford Hall. When a blackened but well-preserved body is discovered deep beneath Blackburne's hot-house, Cragg and Fidelis are asked to investigate. But how can they make headway when, as they soon learn, this corpse might have been in the ground for centuries?
Gradually, Titus pieces together a tale of secrets, scandal and thwarted passion - and uncovers a shocking connection between the body under the hothouse and the slaughter in the farmhouse.
At the royal boat race there are beautiful barges, plenty of bunting, a handsome prince and... is that a body in the water? Lady Swift is on the case!
Spring, 1923. One-time adventurer and now amateur sleuth Lady Eleanor Swift is attending the annual royal regatta with her new pal Tipsy Fitzroy. Tipsy has Eleanor trussed up like a debutante in a new dress, determined to turn her into a proper society lady. Even Eleanor's favourite companion, Gladstone the bulldog, has a new outfit for the occasion.
But the sparkling prize-giving ceremony is interrupted when the devilishly handsome host gulps his glass of champagne on stage and collapses to the floor. The victim is none other than the king's cousin, Lord Xander Taylor-Howard. He was rumoured to be entangled in a rather dubious gambling ring, but did someone kill him instead of collecting his debt? Or was this simply an ill-timed tragic accident? Either way, a right royal scandal is afoot...
Sir Percival, the head of the royal police, asks Eleanor for her help investigating. He'd do anything to keep the story under wraps. She knows it will get her into hot water with a certain dapper Detective Seldon, but she's determined to see justice done. However, as she digs deeper, she learns Lord Taylor-Howard was hiding more than one murky secret. It isn't until she takes a closer look at the unfortunate royal's shattered champagne flute that she stumbles upon just the clue she needs. But can she reel in the killer before her ship is sunk too?
A warm and witty 1920s mystery that cozy fans will just adore. Addictive reading for fans of T E Kinsey, Lee Strauss and Agatha Christie.
The invites went out weeks ago, and tonight, at a lavish manor house surrounded by friends and family, Kaitlin couldn't be happier. But as the champagne corks pop, her dream party becomes her worst nightmare...
Staring at the stunning diamond solitaire on her finger, Kaitlin is finally getting the chance to introduce her best friend Zoe to her perfect fiancé. She hasn't known Greg long, but he looks after her, and he loves playing dad to her young daughter. How could she say no when he's already planned their elopement?
As guests arrive, why is Greg acting so shifty? And is that a flicker of recognition on Zoe's face? And why does she look terrified every time her phone rings?
Kaitlin watches as Zoe knocks back her white wine and makes a beeline for Greg. After a heated conversation, Zoe stumbles towards the door and flees the party without looking back.
Days later, the police knock at Kaitlin's door - Zoe is missing.
Kaitlin wants to believe her loving fiancé is not to blame, but she knows what she saw the night of the party. And when he lies to the police, can she trust the man she's marrying? Could Kaitlin and her precious daughter's life now be in danger too?
The Invite is an absolutely unmissable psychological thriller, perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Wife. You'll be hooked from the first page!
Detective Superintendent Calvin Stewart is on his final warning after messing up a crime scene in Glasgow. He's never been one for desk duty and he's not going to start now.
Finbar O'Toole is a pathologist and is at the crime scene where Stewart disgraces himself. There's no love lost between the two men.
A violent incident takes place and Finbar steps in to save Stewart, and then the two men get talking.
A bond is formed as they set about tracking down a killer who's been amongst them all this time - and nobody is even aware.
Finding roadblocks at every turn, they put their own lives on the line as they search for the truth and hunt down a killer who won't let anybody stand in their way. Not even them.
The first book in an off shoot from the DCI Harry McNeil series, Final Warning brings together two enemies to form a formidable bond.
The son of a Barcelona prostitute who never knew his father, Melchor rapidly fell into trouble and was jailed at 19, convicted of driving for a Colombian drug cartel. While he was behind bars, he read Hugo's Les Misérables, and then his mother was murdered. Admiring of both Jean Valjean and Javert - but mostly the relentless Javert - he decided to become a policeman.
Now he is out for revenge, but he can wait, and meanwhile he has discovered happiness with his wife, the local librarian, and their daughter, who is, of course, called Cossette.
Slowly at first, and then more rapidly once ordered to abandon the case, he tracks the clues that will reveal the larger truth behind what appears at first to be a cold-blooded, professional killing.
Be careful what you wish for…
Callie has known sadness, and sometimes doubted she would ever have the life she wanted. When she meets James, also no stranger to grief, it seems as though her luck has changed. She becomes his wife, and in the process a stepmother to his two sons. Callie has finally got what she always imagined for herself.
But things don’t go to plan for Callie. She tries to get things right, but at every turn she makes mistakes. If she can only show her new family just how much she cares, perhaps everything will be okay. Yet the harder she tries, the more she fails. A split-second decision leads to her spiralling out of control, and there is no way back for Callie.
When the police arrest her for murder, the dark tale of Callie’s shocking fall from grace slowly unfolds. But how much is Callie willing to reveal about the choices she made? If those she cares for the most learn the truth, they will hate her. Will her secrets be her undoing? Or will she tell the truth, no matter the cost?
Zoe didn't meet her daughter the way most mothers do. She finds five-year-old Maddie alone and dirty on a countryside road. Frightened for Maddie's safety, she picks her up and takes her back to her father, not knowing what she's about to step into. Because Maddie wasn't just lost, she was there to lure her serial killer dad's new victim.
After escaping from the clutches of Maddie's dangerous father, she bonds with the little girl. Only Maddie knows what it was like to be at that house. And when no family members come forward to claim Maddie, Zoe decides to adopt her. They move away to a safe house on the Cornish coast and become a family of their own. Zoe gets married and has another child, a baby brother for Maddie.
But Maddie is still traumatised by what she experienced. Diagnosed with callous and unemotional traits, Zoe has a tough job to ensure Maddie has the love and support she needs. Zoe truly loves her daughter—she wouldn't change a thing about her. But there is a part of her that always stays alert. A part of her is afraid of Maddie.
And now, eleven years later, Maddie's school bully is found dead, and another girl is missing.
Zoe can't help but wonder... like father, like daughter?
Everything is going to be fine.
Ellie just needs to find the serial killer who destroyed her life and bring her to justice.
Save Johan. Get her career and life back on track. Finally start living her happy ever after.
It all starts with nailing Mia once and for all.
There’s just one problem.
She is the only one who believes Mia is still alive.
A psychological suspense thriller with a twist of Scandi noir - perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
1940. Britain is at war. Rector's daughter Wilhelmina Harkness longs to do her duty for her country, but when her strict mother forbids her to enlist, their bitter argument has devastating consequences.
Unable to stay in the village she loves, Wilhelmina - reinventing herself as Billie - spends everything she has on a one-way ticket up north. Hull is a distant, dangerous city, but Billie is determined to leave her painful memories behind and start afresh, whatever the cost.
The last thing Billie expects on her first evening in Hull, however, is to be caught in the city's first air raid - or to stumble across the body of a young woman, suspiciously untouched by debris.
If the air raid didn't kill the glamorous stranger, what did? Billie is determined to get justice, and her persistence earns her an invitation to the newly formed Women's Police Constabulary. But as the case unfolds, putting her at odds with both high-ranking members of the force as well as the victim's powerful family, Billie begins to wonder if she can trust her new friends and colleagues . . . or if someone amongst them is working for the enemy.
DEATH IN A BLACKOUT is a perfect pick for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen and Susan Elia MacNeal.
A web of lies will be uncovered...
When fifteen-year-old Oscar Dreyer-Hoff disappears, it's assumed he's another teenage runaway - an overlooked middle child who will turn up within 24 hours.
But as the hours, and then days, tick by and the family become more frantic, Detectives Jeppe Kørner and Anette Werner begin to dig deeper into Oscar's life.
Who has been sending the family malicious notes? What secrets is Oscar's best friend keeping? And what's really going on down at the harbour?
With every passing hour and little evidence, the odds of finding a missing person grow dimmer and dimmer in Kørner and Werner's toughest case yet.
Combining pin-sharp storytelling and a rollercoaster investigation, The Harbour is an absorbing mystery thriller for fans of Jo Nesbo and Tana French.
Manchester, England, 1965: In an instant Connie’s life has changed. She only left her daughter Kathy alone for a moment but that was enough for her to vanish without a trace. As Connie desperately searches for her, she has to put the news reports of other missing children to the back of her mind. She is determined to find her safe. She will bring her daughter home.
As local farmer Ronald listens to the news, he is shocked by what he hears. He has spent his life away from the spotlight, quietly tending to his farm. But when a young couple begin acting suspiciously on his land, he knows that trouble is about to reach his door.
And then he sees her. A girl in a bright red coat who looks completely lost. Ronald knows he needs to help keep her safe and find her family. But on the wild and desolate farmland, Ronald has buried his own dark secret. Can he risk it coming to light to save her life?
Inspired by a real-life true crime story, this is an unforgettable and totally gripping mystery thriller perfect for fans of Gregg Olsen, Elly Griffiths and Found.
But not McIntyre. McIntyre's a fixer, specialising in getting people out of places they don't want to be with the minimum of fuss, publicity and violence. The job in Corfu should be easy - spring, Lauren, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, from the luxury compound of the tech billionaire, Julian Hepworth. Hepworth's young, handsome and charismatic - he's also a suspected paedophile, who, under the guise of training a girls' tennis team, has set up an abusive cult.
But as McIntyre sets up his operation in the exclusive north eastern corner of the island, things quickly start to slip out of his control. First, Lauren's father turns up, threatening to give the game away, and soon, McIntyre's having to contend with Albanian gangsters, Greek drug dealers, psychotic bodyguards, flat earthers and spoilt, wealthy teenagers looking for dangerous kicks. To further complicate things, Lauren's planning her own 'jailbreak'. It looks like things are going to be a lot harder than McIntyre's used to. Luckily, he has his team around him, a motley and colourful bunch, each with their own speciality.
The intertwined stories come together as the various characters all converge on a glamorous summer party at Hepworth's spectacular villa. Can McIntyre play the different factions off against each other and get Lauren to safety without things going horribly wrong?
Whatever Gets You Through The Night is a crime novel with a thrillingly dark heart about the truths that lurk beneath the picture post card surface of a sunny Mediterranean idyll.
Jack Carlisle has never heard of the man Callie Devereaux claims to have once loved, but he has a good idea who it is – his business partner and old friend, Logan Armitage. Jack can’t believe Logan would steal, but as he helps Callie to find his old friend, Jack discovers money missing too…
But with Logan missing without trace, there is only option left to catch this thief – to set a trap.
A gripping revenge thriller, perfect for fans of Gemma Rogers!
Jem Jago is back at work with her antique books, and spending her weekends exploring her new home. On a trip out to picturesque Penzance to visit local gem Tattteredly’s second-hand bookstore, Jem and her best friend Micki get more than they bargained for when they discover the body of the beautiful Gina Marrack, the owner, dead among the stacks…
Unable to resist a real-life mystery, Jem convinces Gina’s friends to talk. She learns Gina wasn’t actually well liked in her little corner of town. A property developer had been sniffing around the street for some time, but Gina had refused to sell up. Did the rowdy real estate agent bump off poor Gina, looking for a quick pay day? Or was her jilted ex-lover out for revenge?
Poking around the scene of the crime, Jem finds an unusual book out of place on the meticulously organized shelves. Could this be a vital clue? And can Jem get to the bottom of the murder before the terrible tale comes to an end for her too?
A fun, cozy page-turner filled with mystery and intrigue, from the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Emma Jameson. Fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Agatha Christie will be totally hooked!
Donnie Black. Charming, successful... and utterly terrifying, he rules the Glasgow underworld with an iron fist. Nothing - or no one - will stop him and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty to grow his fortune.
Layla Black. She's been married to Donnie for twenty years, enjoying the lavish world he has worked hard to create. But behind the perfect image Layla is crumbling, numbing her pain with alcohol. But Layla doesn't know the secrets Donnie keeps - and the truth will send her spiralling.
Louise Bellshaw. She's young, beautiful and innocent. She's charmed by Donnie's sweet words, and believes she's found true love. But Louise doesn't know her dream man has plans that will turn her life into a nightmare.
As the three collide, no one can predict how family ties will turn to bloodshed. Because you'll do anything for the ones you love, won't you?
A dark, twisty and totally gripping thriller set in the heart of Glasgow gangland - fans of Mandasue Heller and Kimberley Chambers won't be able to put this down.
Cathy Townsend has it all, a loving husband, two handsome sons, and a lifestyle that many people envy. But one violent and bloody night Cathy's whole world comes crashing down around her.
Heartbroken and reeling from the events that took place, Cathy is determined to seek revenge on the people responsible for stealing her perfect life away from her. She knows she’ll need help but doesn’t know who to trust.
Because in this new dark and dangerous world, Cathy discovers that friends are enemies and blood isn’t always thicker than water.
Another brilliant story from Kerry Kaya, perfect for gangland fans everywhere!
A darkly suspenseful story of troubled marriages, small-town secrets, and shocking twists by the author of The Three Women.
After a row with her husband, Jocelyn Dexter leaves London and heads to their country cottage for a break. While she’s there, Jocelyn joins a group of women one night at the manor house nearby—and gets entangled in other people’s relationships.
Picking up on the tension beneath the surface, Jocelyn entertains herself by indulging in some snooping, and tries to pry secrets out of the locals. The tables turn when she discovers that someone is spying on her, and it becomes clear that someone wants her to go back where she came from.
Jocelyn considers it a challenge. But involving herself in the affairs of others will lead her down a dark path . .
Then, far from home in this snowbound wilderness, with night falling and the mercury plummeting, an accident sends them in search of help - and shelter. Nearby is the home of a couple - members of Norway's indigenous Sami people - who they've met before, and who welcome them in. Erik is relieved. He believes the worst is over. He thinks that Sofia is now safe. He could not be more wrong. He and Sofia are not the old couple's only visitors that night - and soon he and Sofia will be running for their lives . . .
...and beneath the swirling light show of the Northern Lights, a desperate fight ensues - of man against man, of man against nature - a fight for survival that plays out across the snow and ice.
A story of endurance and of the desperate, instinctive will to survive, of a father's love for his child, of knowing when to let go - and of a daughter's determination to prove herself worthy of that love, Where Blood Runs Cold is a pulse-racing thriller from a master storyteller.
If only her mother could be here! The entire O’Sullivan brood—not to mention the regulars from Naomi’s Bistro—have gathered at St. Mary’s Church for the wedding of Siobhán and Macdara. It’s not every day you see two garda marrying each other. Only Siobhán’s brother James is missing. They can’t start without him.
But when James finally comes racing in, he’s covered in dirt and babbling he’s found a human skeleton in the old slurry pit at the farmhouse. What farmhouse? Macdara sheepishly admits he was saving it as a wedding surprise: he purchased an abandoned dairy farm. Duty calls, so the engaged garda decide to put the wedding on hold to investigate.
James leads them to a skeleton clothed in rags that resemble a tattered tuxedo. As an elderly neighbor approaches, she cries out that these must be the remains of her one true love who never showed up on their wedding day, fifty years ago. The garda have a cold case on their hands, which heats up the following day when a fresh corpse appears on top of the bridegroom’s bones. With a killer at large, they need to watch their backs—or the nearly wedded couple may be parted by death before they’ve even taken their vows. . .
When Sophie Macreavey wakes up in the hospital, suffering from stab wounds, detectives are quick to question her—hoping to make sense of the horrific scene where she was found. Sophie’s adoptive parents and sister are dead. Her brothers are missing. Sophie can’t remember anything—but reveals the abusive nightmare she’s been through as part of the family.
The social worker assigned to her case eventually brings Sophie home, but soon notices discrepancies in Sophie’s story. She claims she hadn’t been allowed to use technology, yet there’s a social media account, extensive messages between herself and a boy, and videos of Sophie online. The more that comes out, the worse it looks for Sophie. She has told some lies. But will the full truth be uncovered?
The Limekiln Estate has witnessed many a dark crime over the years. When DI Allie Shenton is called out to a suspicious death, she isn’t surprised to see it’s a local she knows only too well.
While the slaying of Billy Whitmore is on everyone’s lips, a woman is stabbed in her home. A day later and a third victim turns up.
Three known associates brutally murdered - the bodies are piling up quicker than the forensic evidence is coming back. Yet Allie senses there’s something more disturbing going on. She’s sure Fiona Abbott, Billy’s partner, is involved too.
With enemies from her past rearing their ugly heads, and the press and public up in arms, Allie has her work cut out to get to the shocking truth. Can she and her loyal team stop the killer who has a close-knit community living in fear?
And by raking up secrets from the past, has she made the Abbott family the next target, especially fourteen-year-old Kelsey?
Set within the gritty streets of Stoke-on-Trent, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery with an emotional pull.
When an old television rival, Deirdre Shaw, is found dead at the Cotswolds manor house where she was catering for a prestigious shooting weekend, Prudence is asked to step into the breach. Prudence is only too happy to take up the position and soon she is working in the kitchens of Farleigh Manor.
But Farleigh Manor is the home to secrets, both old and new. The site of a famous unsolved murder from the nineteenth century, Farleigh Manor has never quite shaken off its sensationalist past. It's about to get a sensational present too. Because, the more she scratches beneath the surface of this manor and its guests, the more Prudence becomes certain that Deirdre Shaw's death was no accident. She's staring in the face of a very modern murder. . .
When a skeleton is unearthed at a building site in the village of Meresham, the police immediately link the case to a notorious missing persons investigation. Jayne Arnold was sixteen when she disappeared in the long, hot summer of 1976, and has not been seen since.
Soon after the bones are found, a tragic accident occurs at an elite boarding school nearby. The young victim fell to her death from the roof of a building. Digging into the girl's background links her to an attempted expose of donations from unsavoury individuals. When further deaths follow, does it suggest a cover up is underway? Who stood to lose most from the truth coming out? And how do recent crimes link to events from more than 45 years ago? DI Annie Delamere and her team are tasked to answer these questions, but her own mother may stand between Annie and the truth.
A day of celebration quickly turns into a nightmare for champion jockey Harry Radcliffe and his friend, horsebox driver Keith Whelan, when Keith is brutally shot in the head while driving the pair back from an engagement party. But was the bullet that smashed through the horsebox windscreen really meant for Keith, or for Harry himself? Harry escapes unscathed from the bloody scene, but Keith is left fighting for his life in hospital. It seems that Harry is dead lucky to be alive.
Despite his recent vow to focus solely on his racing, Harry determines to find out who committed such a brutal act, and quickly finds himself drawn into horse racing's dark and dangerous underbelly. Will his pursuit of justice for Keith prove to be a deadly step too far?
Thank you for the hard work you do compiling these listings. My TBR pile keeps getting taller thanks to you and that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen. A few more titles to add to my growing list and a few recommendations for my Mom too!
ReplyDelete