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

James Beck learned the value of loyalty the hard way. Imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, he developed a keen sense of right and wrong. So when his friend is beaten and killed on the streets of the Bronx, Beck is determined to provide him a measure of justice; a little dignity. But what starts as an investigation into a simple street killing soon turns into something more sinister and complex than Beck could have ever imagined.

Salford, 1983. Lorraine Quick is a single mum, a member of a band going nowhere fast and Personnel Officer at Salford's grim Memorial Hospital. A new General Manager position is being introduced, someone to steer the institution towards Margaret Thatcher's lofty vision for the NHS. Lorraine will be pivotal in selecting the successful candidate, thanks to her recent training in psychometric testing.

The Grayson sisters are trouble. Everyone in their small town knows it. But no one can know of the secret that binds them together. Hattie is the light. Penny is the darkness. Together, they have balance. But one night the balance is toppled. A match is struck. A fire is started. A cruel husband is killed. The potential for a new life flickers in the fire's embers, but resentment, guilt, and jealousy suffocate like smoke. Their lives have been engulfed in flames. Will they ever be able to put them out?

'My name is Dr Maria Martinez and I am - was - a Consultant Plastic Surgeon. I am 33 years old. Place of birth: Salamanca, Spain. And I was convicted of the murder of a Catholic priest.' Maria is in prison. She says she's innocent and is fighting to clear her name. Because deep down she knows the truth better than anyone. Doesn't she?

Róisín Burns has spent years becoming someone else; her life in New York is built on lies. A figure from her Belfast childhood flashes up on the news; Brian Lonergan has also reinvented himself. He is now a rising politician, but scandal is brewing in Ireland and Róisín knows the truth. Armed with the evidence, she travels back across the Atlantic to hunt him down. But Lonergan is one step ahead...and when Róisín arrives on the island, someone else is waiting for her.

What secrets are hidden within the walls of a desolate farmhouse in a forgotten corner of Lapland? Early spring has its icy grip on Ödesmark, a small village in northernmost Sweden, abandoned by many of its inhabitants. But Liv Björnlund never left. She lives in a derelict house together with her teenage son, Simon, and her ageing father, Vidar. They make for a peculiar family, and Liv knows that they are cause for gossip among their few remaining neighbours.

On a dark night in Lusaka, Zambia, a young girl is brutally assaulted and left for dead. Her identity is a mystery. Zoe Fleming, a human rights lawyer, is determined to find the perpetrator. Also investigating is Joseph Kabuta of the Zambian police. At first they are reluctant to work together, their cultures and upbringings radically different. Their task is not only to help the girl recover, but also to ensure justice doesn't fail her again.

PI John Craine has come to Hale Island to get away from it all. But within hours he stumbles across the dead body of a young girl on the beach. When the police arrive the body has inexplicably disappeared. Or did Craine imagine it in the first place? Determined to get at the truth, Craine starts asking questions. But it seems that no one on the island is talking. And all too soon he finds himself tangled up in a deadly network of fear and violence…

London 2027. Terrorists deploy a highly sophisticated nerve agent called London Black at Waterloo station—for an unfortunate section of the population, what follows is agonising physical deterioration and usually death London 2029. DI Lucy Stone is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of the scientist who developed an antidote to the nerve agent. It is a daily boost, making life bearable for the 'Vulnerables'—but isn't a cure. Lucy suspects the scientist might have been working on a permanent solution to the nerve agent.

When two bodies wash up on a river bank in the Balkans, Simo Subotic is called in to investigate. It soon becomes clear that their deaths were the result of torture not seen since the Bosnian War. Meanwhile, after a drug bust prematurely ends the Tour de Balkans, former Olympic cyclist Heather Bishop is in freefall after her journalist boyfriend Ryan Mackinnon goes missing. Her desperate search for him uncovers not only Ryan's dark past, but that of a region still reeling from the trauma of war.

The public think Ava's a monster. Ava thinks she's blameless. In prison, they called her Butcher Bird—but Ava's not in prison any more. Released after 25 years to a new identity and a new home, Ava finally has the quiet life she's always wanted. But someone knows who she is. The lies she's told are about to unravel.

In this timeless, mythical tale of unforgiving justice and elusive grace, rural Mississippi townsfolk shoulder the pain of generations as something dangerous lurks in the enigmatic kudzu of the woods. The town of Red Bluff, Mississippi, has seen better days, though those who've held on have little memory of when that was. Myer, the county's aged, sardonic lawman, still thinks it can prove itself. When confronted by a strange family of drifters, the sheriff believes that the people of Red Bluff can be accepting, rational, even good. The opposite is true.

When Vidor Kiraly, a world-renowned neuroscientist and Cambridge don, violently attacks a man at a prize ceremony (while in an apparent state of psychosis), the story attracts the attention of Anton Gessen, a psychiatrist with a penchant for unusual cases, who runs a private clinic in the Swiss Alps. Not long after Vidor arrives at the clinic, Gessen suspects that his newest patient is not all he seems.

While investigating the origins of a mysterious donation to Oxford University, private detective Charles Maddox encounters the mysterious Baron Von Reisenberg, the subject of many rumors and macabre legends. In the light of day Maddox can find no evidence of anything sinister—until a series of disturbing incidents send him on a quest to expose whatever evil lurks in the Baron's castle. After a terrifying encounter nearly costs him his sanity, Maddox returns home to find London besieged by an elusive murderer branded the Vampire.

Ever since her sister, Anya, was murdered in Sotogrande, a playground for the rich, Natasha's life has gone off the rails. After three months of poring over the details of what happened, Natasha travels to the scene of the crime where she hopes to unravel the truth—about her sister's death and life. With no job, how did Anya end up in a multimillion-Euro apartment in one of the most exclusive areas on the continent? The police have no suspect. Publicly, they claim the killing was likely gang-related. But their key person of interest, a local with links to organized crime, is also now dead.

Ed Truman's family is falling apart. His daughter Ally is being targeted by an alt-right incel organisation, Men Together. His house is being picketed, former clients are accusing him of sexual assault, his son won't speak to him. And then Ally disappears. Frantic, Ed suspects that Men Together have abducted her. But before he can go to the police, his DNA is found on the body of a young woman. Suddenly he's the subject of a nationwide manhunt, led by the tenacious DCI Jackie Rose.

When Frankie sees the unforgettable face of her long-lost love in a passing train, she turns straight round and goes after him. For she, more than anyone, "knows" he is dead. She was there when it happened, attended the inquest, and later served a prison sentence for his manslaughter. Frankie, Cristina, Cassandra, Jenny, Pippa.... They are five women living quite separate lives - in Antwerp, Paris, Venice, Rio, Bath - except for one crucial fact. Each has devoted her life to the same duplicitous man.

Jack found the love of his life when he met Kate. But their happiness was shattered when she opened the door to a cold-blooded killer. Jack will never forget the face of the man who stole his future. The only person who loved Kate as much is Emily, her twin. So when Jack tells her that he’s found the man who murdered her sister she doesn’t hesitate to help him exact revenge. As the plans for vengeance lead to unforeseen danger, Emily has to trust Jack more than she has ever trusted anyone. Can you always believe what you see?

Dr. Maria Martinez is out of prison and on the run. Members of The Project, a ruthless underground organisation, are after her. To survive, she has to keep one step ahead. A file exists, the contents of which could mean life or death for Maria. She must find it and then retreat to the safety of her family home in Spain. Little does she know that this might be the most dangerous place of all....

I've always known Jack was different. Ever since he was eight years old and he killed his father. He was protecting me, just like I've always protected him. But now he's eighteen and this time he's gone too far. Steve is dead. He was a good man, and god, we could have been really great together—but now he's bleeding out on our kitchen table. I must keep my boy safe. No one can ever know what he's done. What he's capable of. And I won't let him get caught. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe, keep him with me. Even if it means becoming a monster myself.