Showing results by publisher "W. F. Howes Ltd" in Crime Fiction

The town's psychic cat, Irene Peggledrip, is being visited by a band of malevolent spirits who all claim to be murderers. The stage is set for Hettie and Tilly to solve an old murder mystery, where all the cats involved appear to be dead. Will our feline sleuths finally lay the ghosts to rest? Can Molly Bloom’s new cafe survive the seance? And will the moving claw give up its secrets before the gravy congeals? Join Hettie and Tilly for another spirited adventure.

Set in 1959, the "year the music died," The Smoke in Our Eyes is a cinematic, clock-ticking saga set in a small Montana town. When a fatal car accident shatters ten-year-old Lucas's world, he finds himself confronting crime and vengeance, humor and heroism, all against the backdrop of growing up.

Ian Bridges works as a hitman and is on permanent stand-by for West End gangster John Broad. He does maybe three or four jobs a year and spends the rest of his life desperately trying to find Mrs Right so he can settle down, but can't and it feels like the world is conspiring against him. He's about to find out he's right.

Hired to find the missing son of retired political activist Moira Doherty, Dan Starkey knows his new case is going to be challenging. Billy 'the Bear' Doherty, a criminal with a nasty drug habit, isn't an easy man to find - his mum is convinced he's been murdered. But when Moira herself is killed, Dan finds himself in the middle of a deadly game of cat and mouse.

It's 1987. One morning, 15-year-old Tania Mills kisses her mother, walks out of her front door and disappears. In 2014, when a new lead comes in for Tania's case, DS Sarah Collins is asked to investigate. PC Lizzie Griffiths, the subject of Collins' last investigation, is back on the job and working at a domestic violence unit. When a quirk of fate brings Lizzie and Collins back into contact, each must try to reconcile the claims of the past with the demands of the present.

Chicago, 1931. While the Great Depression has tightened its grip on the world, there are still some who have the means to make their dreams a reality. One of these men is Hobart St John, who wants a mansion in the suburb of Oak Park. For young Welsh architect Merlin Richards, the opportunity to work on the house is an answer to his prayer.

Original Swedish crime stories from the masters of Nordic noir, including a never-before-published short story by Stieg Larsson. Ever since Stieg Larsson shone a light on the brilliance of Swedish crime writing, listeners have devoured this dark and compelling genre. Now the nation's best crime writers have been brought together to form the first-ever anthology of Swedish crime.

Beautiful twin sisters Iris and Summer are startlingly alike, but beneath the surface lies a darkness that sets them apart. Cynical and insecure, Iris has long been envious of open-hearted Summer's seemingly never-ending good fortune, including her perfect husband, Adam. Called to Thailand to help sail the beloved family yacht to the Seychelles, Iris nurtures her own secret hopes for what might happen on the journey. But when she unexpectedly finds herself alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean, everything changes.

It's 1942, and war is raging in Europe and in the Pacific. The Japanese army is on Australia's doorstep, and the small coastal Queensland town of Maryborough is on full war footing. What they are not prepared for is the arrival in the town of a troupe of incompetent actors whose unjustifiably self-confident leader, William Power, is determined to bring his daring production of Titus Andronicus to the barbarians of rural Australia. Unfortunately for the Power Players, the only gift William Power has is a capacity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Hundreds of eyes stare out from the missing persons board - people who have been gone too long and are being forgotten. But what if some of these people wanted to disappear, to hide in the shadows? This is the question Mila and her team must ask themselves as long-lost people begin to return. Clues are being left for Mila - clues she doesn't fully understand and which her colleagues are strangely dismissive of.

Troublesome directors and fastidious assistants soon become the least of Hattie's worries as, a week into rehearsals, an actress is found dead backstage on the same day that an extremely valuable theatrical mask goes missing.

It appeared that Helen McAllister–for whatever reason–had simply got out of the car sometime the previous morning, taking her keys and bag and phone with her, and walked away… Ten years later there has been no trace found of the teacher who went missing from a small village on the last day of the school year. Her lover Alice Hauser's accusations of impropriety on the part of the senior investigating officer, DI Thomas Maitland, led to his early retirement, his life in disrepair.

Sixteen-year-old Charlotte 'Charlie' Mackintosh is a loner whose father works for the company. He gives her Realer for her birthday - only to be murdered as she watches through her high-tech hood at home. Alone in a tense post-lockdown world, Charlie has to turn to Realer to find his killers. She’s soon trapped in a murderous conspiracy behind a system that’s steadily beginning to take over people’s lives. Charlie comes to understand that she can only hide from outside dangers for so long.

In the former mining town of Black Lake on the west coast of Canada, there is a story about a shipwreck. All those aboard died, except an unnamed man who staggered ashore. His descendants have a unique ability: once in their lives—and only once—they can unwind the events of the previous six hours. More than two hundred years later, Ella Manning, marine biologist and part-time police constable, is attending a party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion of the town's divisive local billionaire.

Marylebone, November 1968. Detective Sergeant Breen has a death threat and two burned bodies on his hands. One is an un-mourned vagrant; the other the son of a politician. One case suffers the apathy of the police; the other obstructed by a PR-conscious father. Then the potential perpetrator of his death threats is murdered. Banished from a corrupt system, Breen is finally forced to fight fire with fire.

In 1953, Dr. Charles Wilson, a government scientist, died when he 'jumped or fell' from the ninth floor of a Washington hotel. As his wife and children grieve, the details of the incident remain buried for 22 years. With the release of the Rockefeller Commission report on illegal CIA activities in 1975, the Wilson case suddenly becomes news again. Wilson's family and the public are demanding answers, especially as some come to suspect the CIA of foul play and agents in the CIA, FBI and White House will do anything to make sure the truth doesn't get out. Enter agent Jack Gabriel.

Paul and Mikey are on the run, apparently from the press surrounding their house after Mikey's release from prison. His crime: child murder, committed when he was a boy. As they travel, they move from one disturbing scenario to the next, eventually involving themselves with a bizarre religious cult. The power between the brothers begins to shift, and we realise there is more to their history than Paul has allowed us to know.

Venice is a beautiful and mysterious city. Lucifer's Shadow combines two stories in the city, set centuries apart from one another, and both involving the shady but seductive characters of Venice. The stories involve an anonymous manuscript for a violin concerto, and run parallel, interweaving to lead listeners into a stunning double twisted ending.

Wyatt Dixon, rodeo cowboy and 'the most dangerous, depraved, twisted and unpredictable human I ever knew' is certainly not one of Billy Bob Holland's favourite people. Sentenced to 60 years in jail for murder, Dixon is out after only a year, due to the DA's failure to disclose a piece of information. He swears he's a changed man and needs Billy Bob's help, but how can Billy Bob believe the man who tortured his wife? And then there's Johnny American Horse, who has been caught carrying a gun. He says he needs it for protection; in a dream he saw two men coming for him.

When private investigator Sandro Cellini is invited to attend a glamorous launch party in Florence, he has no idea what he's walking into. The former head of security for this elite development has just died under suspicious circumstances, and Sandro finds himself stepping into a dead man's shoes. When one of the residents dies suddenly in suspicious circumstances, events begin to spiral out of control.