Showing results by author "J. J. Kennard" in All Categories

AD 383. Emperor Magnus Maximus orders the northern legions of Britannia to withdraw. The lumbering retreat is fraught with danger, as local tribes and warlords seek to capitalize on the power vacuum left by the Romans. This is the story of Atticus, the 15-year-old son of a cohort tribune from the sixth legion. Trapped behind the walls of a garrison, with only an aging centurion and his men for protection, Atticus must use both ingenuity and bravery to survive.

Flanders, 1915. Captain Robert Armstrong receives an unexpected parcel. So begins a chain of events that will reveal a hidden past, guilty secrets, and unwelcome enticements. Asked to defend a junior officer accused of cowardice, Armstrong fights his battles on more than one front, and against unexpected enemies.

A sleepy Norfolk coastal resort hits the headlines when an anonymous tip-off reveals 13 corpses in a basement. Why are they arranged in a circle, and what’s the connection between them? In this short-listen murder mystery, follow newly promoted Detective Constable Jerry Jackson’s adventures as he becomes entangled in a case where the killer is closer than he realises, and has yet to complete his death toll.

Rome is reeling from the after-effects of a civil war. The troops that marched through Italia have left a wave of destruction. A vindictive message, left on the wall of a family estate, galvanizes Ursa’s father into tracking down the perpetrators and seeking answers. Before undertaking his quest, the sickly former centurion informs his son Ursa that he is adopted. Caught between two worlds, Ursa seeks both to remedy the cause of his father’s dishonor and learn more about his heritage.

The tiny Scottish fishing town of Hillmyre is isolated and dying. It’s the perfect hideaway for the jaded and cynical academic Dr John Watson. All Watson wants is to write his novel but when the bodies appear and his help is sought all hopes of a quiet life start to unravel. Will it be the making or breaking of him?

Guy believed he’d found the answer to overcoming that bleak dysfunctional fatalism they all felt. Bottling up emotions isn’t good, he reasoned. So, he would do what ordinary people did and he would set up an emotional support group. It was only when the newest member joined the group that things started to happen. The tables were turning and the assassins found themselves being targeted. This wasn’t good, but at least it gave an opportunity to get away from the hotel that served the worst tea imaginable.

Summer 1977. The police have barely got their heads around an arson attack when a second occurs. Where’s the evidence? A detective is following up a hunch when the arsonist strikes again. This time, the attack on an Orphanage leads to the loss of life of children and adults. An arrest is made. The suspect ticks some of the boxes, but detective "Chunky" Mason isn’t sure they’ve got their man. As the investigation steps up a gear Mason begins to unearth an unpalatable truth.

A Goth, two therapists, and a whole bunch of dead people. What could possibly go wrong? Rio hires a therapist but what she wants is way outside of the sphere of psychotherapy. She needs Leyla to accompany her to Elysium and help bring back her dead father. Swapping gender and a ferry ride across the river Styx is just the start of a comic adventure where nothing is what it appears and everything is constantly changing.

DCI Morgan confronts a personal crisis when retirement looms. Meanwhile, crime doesn’t stop. The discovery of a body, found with a fish in his mouth, sparks a murder hunt. In this, the fourth of J. J. Kennard’s short murder mysteries, Morgan feels he should be on the case, but his chief has other ideas.

Detective Inspector Ken "Chunky" Mason finds himself trapped between a rock and a hard place when history and current events conspire against him. A dead body, blackmail, conflicts of interest. He’s almost at the end of his tether, when events take an unexpected twist.

A Christmas miracle! Her paralysis, cured by the stranger who only needed to hold her hands. So why was she cruelly robbed of the gift so soon afterwards? Why is she dying? Psychiatrist Ben Sheldon is perplexed. Why the rapid mental decline in his patients? How does the death of the local priest and the arrival of an exorcist from Rome tie the pieces together? Now, with his own family at risk from the mysterious and malign presence, Ben Sheldon must collaborate with unlikely allies to try and save them.

Feisty Samantha (Sam) Wilson isn't allowing the closure of the village library to go unchallenged; it's just another blow to a community already in slow decay. When aspiring author Dominic Ross moves into the old schoolhouse, things begin to change. Sam thinks he'd make a great match for her childhood friend and single mom Anne. Dominic has other things on his mind. He wants to help Sam with the library, he's under pressure from his agent to come up with the goods, and he thinks his house is haunted.

The Virion script project is spinning out of control. As key personnel disappear, the finger of suspicion points to the Estonian mafia, and someone inside British Intelligence. Anna Faulkner, plucked from a mundane job in cyber-security, is briefed to locate the agoraphobic computer geek, Tom Morris. Is Morris the victim of a mistaken identity or can he really be the brains behind the Virion Script? Anna is soon immersed in a world of hostility and disinformation as she tries to determine the nature of the Script, who is involved, and why they are prepared to kill for its secrets.

Britannia 383 CE: General Magnus Maximus is crowned emperor by his own men. Taking advantage of the unpopularity of the Western Emperor Gration, he strips Britannia of its legions and moves to Gaul where he seizes power and plots his next move. In this, the third story in the Atticus series, our young tribune finds himself posted to Italia where he waits for the inevitable clash between Western and Eastern empires. But before any battles, he must deal with spies, betrayal, assassinations, and rumors of invasion.

Roman influence and power in Britannia is diminishing but with it the northern tribes are becoming emboldened. Noblemen who once gave their allegiance to Rome are flexing their muscles and seeking a return to the old ways. But, while they bicker and negotiate over who should be king, another force is in the ascendency. The Arch Druid, known simply as Ash, has his own grand plans, which involve the manipulation of both the tribes and Romans.

Augustus Reid’s mortal life ended in 1794. He did not ask for immortality, but when it visited he spent the centuries trying to hide. The cause of his condition, in the form of Tilly Tayler, has returned and everything has begun to change. She wants help with the birth of her child, a child that has taken two centuries to develop in her womb.