Novels
The Book Of Death
A long forgotten book conceals a dangerous secret.
James Faraday is about to turn eighty and his daughter
has organised a gathering of friends and family at
Woodford Grange to celebrate the big day. There will be
a marquee in the garden, plenty of food and drink, and a
huge stack of birthday presents. One particular gift,
however, is proving difficult to track down.
For
Simon Turing, who works in the local bookshop, it is
just another order; an out of print book of wartime
statistics. It only takes a day or two for him to locate
a copy.
As soon
as the book arrives, however, things start to go awry.
The shop is burgled. Simon is knocked off his bike on
his way to the Grange. And a worker at the estate
suffers a fatal accident. Is it just a run of bad luck
or are more sinister forces at work?
Simon
is about to find out.
The Bonfire Night Massacre
The corpse was snoring softly behind the sofa.
It
is early November and the Wynmouth Fire Festival is in
full flow. A dozen or more giant statues are about to be
put to the torch. The locals jokingly refer to it as
“the Bonfire Night Massacre”. Fireworks and bonfires are
the order of the day, and Simon Turing is looking
forward to seeing the display..
He is
in town performing at a local theatre, a revival of a
fifties mystery play. All is not well at the venue,
however. The theatre is in financial trouble and there
are tensions backstage. The management needs a good box
office if the theatre is to survive the winter. Luckily,
the fire festival is a significant draw to the town. But
when the theatre’s own contribution to the festivities
erupts into flames a couple of days earlier than
planned, it does not bode well for the rest of the run.
The Scandal At Bletchley
"I've been a scoundrel, a thief, a blackmailer and a whore, but never a murderer. Until now..."
The year is 1929. As the world teeters on the brink of a global recession, Bletchley Park plays host to a rather special event. MI5 is celebrating its twentieth anniversary and a select band of former and current employees are gathering for a weekend of music, dance and heavy drinking. Among them is Sir Hilary Manningham-Butler, a middle aged woman whose entire adult life has been spent masquerading as a man. She doesn’t know why she has been invited – it is many years since she left the secret service – but it is clear she is not the only one with things to hide. And when one of the other guests threatens to expose her secret, the consequences could prove disastrous for everyone.
The Red Zeppelin
"You'll never get me up in one of those things. They're absolutely lethal..."
Seville, 1931. Six months after the loss of the British airship the R101, a German Zeppelin is coming in to land in Southern Spain.
Hilary Manningham-Butler is an MI5 operative eking out a pitiful existence on the Rock of Gibraltar. The offer of a job in the Americas provides a potential lifeline but there are strings attached. First she must prove her mettle to her masters in London and that means stepping on board the Richthofen before the airship leaves Seville.
A
cache of secret documents has been stolen from Scotland
Yard and the files must be recovered if British security
is not to be severely compromised. Hilary must put her
life on the line to discover the identity of the thief.
But as the airship makes its way across the Atlantic
towards Brazil it becomes clear that nobody on board is
quite what they seem. And there is no guarantee that any
of them will reach Rio de Janeiro alive...
The Devil's Brew
"Your predecessor was sitting in that chair when he shot himself. You can still see the bloodstains on the wall behind you."
Central
America, 1931. Hilary Manningham-Butler is settling into
her new job as passport control officer at the British
legation in Guatemala City. Her predecessor Giles
Markham is dead, having embezzled a large sum of money
from the office’s visa receipts and then taken his own
life. Freddie Reeves, a friend at the legation, believes
there is more to his death than suicide. The weekend
before he died, Markham spent some time at a remote
coffee plantation in the north central highlands.
Freddie knows the owner of the plantation and invites
Hilary to accompany him there for the weekend, in the
hope that she might be able to discover the truth.
Hilary has no intention of getting involved, but when a
house guest dies in suspicious circumstances it becomes
clear that she will not be given the choice.
A Poison Of Passengers
"It's a bomb!" some fat idiot yelled, as I was heading for the exit. "They've found a bomb!"
New
York 1932. A letter bomb campaign throws the city into a
panic and Hilary Manningham-Butler is anxious to get
away. The RMS Galitia is setting sail for Southampton,
but there will be no respite on board ship. Another
campaign is in the offing, less explosive but equally
deadly. A series of anonymous letters are being
distributed across the decks. Someone knows far too much
about the passengers in first class and venom is spewing
in every direction. It will not be long before that
venom spills over into violence and murder…
Hurrah For Hilary!
“Hurrah for the Blackshirts!” the headline screams on 15th January 1934.
Hilary Manningham-Butler is less than impressed. She has inveigled her way into the January Club, an elite debating society which acts as a recruiting ground for the newly formed British Union of Fascists. The Security Service is concerned that the BUF may be receiving funds from a foreign power. Using her newly acquired contacts, Hilary is despatched to Rome to investigate. Arriving at the villa of a fellow club member, events take a sinister turn when one of the house guests meets with an unfortunate accident. Hilary is not convinced that the death is accidental and the Italian police are quick to come to the same conclusion. But can a police force in the pay of a fascist administration ever be relied upon to deliver justice?
The Stiletto
His dad was a legend. He doesn't have a clue.
Everyone
has heard of the Stiletto, the infamous assassin who
strikes without warning. He has been running rings
around the police for years. But nobody has the
slightest idea who he really is.
Eric
Primrose has more important concerns. He is about to
get married and there is a baby on the way. A chance
meeting with his dad up in London puts a spanner in
the works, however, when his father accidentally
chokes to death on an olive. Jonathan Primrose, it
transpires, is not the dull businessman Eric has
always believed him to be. In fact, he is the
Stiletto and his premature death has wrong-footed a
whole host of sinister forces. The veteran hit man
was midway through an assignment and it looks like
Eric may have to step in and complete the job.
Someone
has mistaken him for his father and, unless Eric
does exactly as he is told, he may never see his
fiancée or his unborn child again….
The Gunpowder Treason
"A dangerous disease requires a desperate remedy…"
Robert Catesby is a man in despair. His wife is dead and his country is under siege. A new king presents a new hope but the persecution of Catholics in England continues unabated and Catesby can tolerate it no longer. King James bears responsibility but the whole government must be eradicated if anything is to really change. And Catesby has a plan...
The Gunpowder Treason is a fast-paced historical thriller. Every character is based on a real person and almost every scene is derived from eye-witness accounts. This is the story of the Gunpowder Plot, as told by the people who were there...
Democracy is coming to the Central American Republic of San Doloroso. But it won't be staying long...
The year is 1990. Ace reporter Daniel Parr has been injured in a freak surfing accident, just as the provisional government of San Doloroso has announced the country's first democratic elections.
The Daily Herald needs a man on the spot and in desperation they turn to Patrick Malone, a feckless junior reporter who just happens to speak a few words of Spanish.
Despatched
to Central America to get the inside story, our
Man in Toronja finds himself at the mercy of a
corrupt and brutal administration that is
determined to win the election at any cost...
A remote Scottish island plays host to a deadly reunion...
It
should be a lot of fun, meeting up for a long
weekend in a rented lighthouse on a chunk of rock
miles from anywhere. There will be drinks and
games and all sorts of other amusements. It is ten
years since the last get-together and twenty years
since Nadia and her friends graduated from
university. But not everything goes according to
plan. One of the group has a more sinister agenda
and, as events begin to spiral out of control, it
becomes clear that not everyone will get off the
island alive...
A blizzard, a farmhouse and a family at war..
Giles and Marion Wilkerson are celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. They have recently moved to France and it seems like the perfect excuse to invite a few friends and family over. Vicki Wilkerson, their daughter, has been once before, but this time she is bringing a friend; her new fiancé Akash. Her father does not approve. When Vicki’s brother also arrives uninvited the situation takes a turn for the worse. Giles and Robbie have not spoken for years. Tensions begin to rise; and not just among the family. Some of their old friends also have scores to settle. With the phone lines down, heavy snow on the way and no mobile signal to be had, it looks like they will be staying at the farm for far longer than anyone anticipated. And it won't be long before bad feeling spills over into violence and murder.