A gruesome killing spree resurrects the past and makes the present all the more dangerous for someone close to DI Alec McKay in this explosive thriller.In the depths of a cold Scottish winter, an unidentified body is found in the heart of a solstice bonfire, apparently burned alive. Over a tense Christmas, a retired businessman goes missing, his body eventually found hanging from a tree in the coastal town. Another associate is found brutally murdered in his remote Highland home.DCI Helena Grant wants to spend a romantic Christmas with her new partner, the crime writer Bill Emsworth. In her absence, DI Alec McKay and his team struggle to investigate the killings, their work hampered by staff shortages and hostile weather. As he tries to connect the murders, McKay discovers that the victims have links to a notorious investigation, the subject of a 'true crime' exposé written by Emsworth.When another local businessman disappears, McKay fears that Emsworth, and...

A massacre in the Scottish Highlands is far more than the family tragedy it first appears to be, in this riveting police procedural. The slaughter of the Dawson family seems to be a heartbreaking case of murder-suicide—another deeply troubled man who violently snapped and killed his wife and children before ending his own life. But DI Alec McKay doesn't think it's as open-and-shut as it looks. Why was a BMW parked at the Dawsons' holiday home on that last day of tourist season—and why are its owners also now dead? Why is the new senior investigating officer acting so erratically? And most chillingly of all, who is sending out packages containing toys taken from the crime scene? Before McKay can close the case, he will have to face down a threat from the past—and a crime that could shatter his heart—in this twist-filled thriller from the acclaimed author whose previous police procedurals, written under the name Michael Walters, were...

A serial killer is targeting washed-up entertainers in the Scottish Highlands in this gritty crime thriller by the author of Candles and Roses. Former comic Jimmy McGuire is found dead on the streets of Inverness, his body garroted. Years ago, McGuire had been half of a promising double-act until his partner, Jack Dingwall, was convicted of rape. Soon after, a second corpse is found in an abandoned industrial site on the edge of the Moray Firth—also garroted. Identified as a former musician turned record producer, it is learned that he had also been accused of rape. Meanwhile, Det. Inspector Alec McKay and Chief Inspector Helena Grant are still wrestling with the fallout from a recent case following a devastating acquittal. As the body count rises, the police think they have the killer in their sights. But McKay is concerned that the evidence is too neat. And as the trail leads to a final victim yet to come, time is running out to find the...

DI Ivan Winterman is a man with a troubled past. The Blitz has left his young son dead and his wife seriously injured. He has made enemies in high places and, with his career going nowhere, he returns to his home town in East Anglia, seeking to rebuild his life in a country gripped by post-war austerity and the coldest winter on record. As the first snow begins to fall, a drunken ex-clergyman stumbles on the semi-mummified body of a small child concealed in a ruined cottage. Days later, a second similar child's body is found in a Fenland dyke. Both bodies have been dead for several years, preserved in the Fens, the cause of death unknown. Winterman, supported by a small team of assorted misfits, finds himself leading the investigation, uncovering a web of connections and secrets in the small rural community. When a further murder victim is discovered, Winterman discovers that the secrets are darker and the threat far more immediate than he'd ever envisaged. And, as the snow finally begins to thaw over the Fens, Winterman realises that his worst nightmares are about to come true…

A vicious murder is committed, but who has blood on their hands?On a hot summer's afternoon, Michelle Wentworth enjoys a rare few hours of relaxation. Sunning herself by her pool, she sends her lazy teenage son to fetch her a drink. But instead of a refreshment, Michelle is given a nasty shock when shortly after her child's bludgeoned body is discovered on the doorstep. DI Annie Delamere attends the scene, joined by DS Zoe Everett. There is nothing to suggest a motive or perpetrator. They dig into Michelle's life and come to suspect she may have been the target. Her ruthless pursuit of profit has won her few friends, and relying on her lawyer's questionable advice could mean she's in over her head. When another battered body is found, Annie finds that every clue leads back to a dispute at Michelle's business. But with so many people with reason to seek revenge, will Annie and her team look in the right places – or will it be too...

"I am a huge fan . . . this book deserves 10 stars. Fast-paced and action-packed . . . Brilliant!" —Rock Chick Fee, five starsAfter her son's tragic death, a former cop discovers his dangerous secret life—and picks up where he left off . . . Former police officer Emma Raven has a heartbreaking task ahead of her: gathering her late son's possessions from his Cambridge college. His death was deemed a suicide. But once she enters Paul's room accompanied by his director of studies, Colin Gormley, and finds it's been ransacked, she's troubled. When this is followed by attacks against both Emma and Colin, the two flee. But the danger doesn't stop there. Before long, the grieving mother is entangled in a deadly mystery that puts her right in the line of fire . . .

Deadly truths lie buried beneath the snow. Three people are stranded at a pub on a winter's night – a couple, the Fairweathers, and a woman, Alison Evans. Hours later, in the middle of the night, the pub alarm begins to sound and Alison Evans is missing. Within moments, her body is discovered outside. The following day a young boy disappears while sledding with his grandfather. The two cases couldn't be more different, but as the two investigations unfold and the window for finding Lucas Pritchard narrows, the job becomes personal for one of DI Annie Delamere's team. With links between the cases that seem to make no sense, can they find their answers before time runs out? A tense and gripping crime thriller set in the Peak District, perfect for fans of Stephen Booth and Roz Watkins. Praise for Old Evils 'Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Full of plot twists and surprises.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader...