Books
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IMPURITY
2022
A murder with no weapon or motive. A detective on edge. A community that wants answers
One fateful night when off duty, DI Stewart Gardener intervenes in a street brawl and his wife is shot dead. Trying to come to terms with this, he gradually returns to normal duties policing the streets of Leeds. Finding his wife’s murderer is never far from his mind, but with no leads and a hazy recollection of events, it seems hopeless.
Soon he is presented with a shocking case. A man is found dead in a grubby apartment, having been killed in the cruellest of ways. It is not long before another man meets the same fate. The deaths are caused by a rapid and violent disintegration of the victims’ flesh. Pathology cannot ascertain the cause. The only connection between the victims is they both worked seasonally as Santas, dressing up as Father Christmas and entertaining kids in grottos and such like. Who would want to kill such innocuous men as these?
The detective is flummoxed. The local community is ruffled. The press is having a field day. The top brass wants answers. Can DI Gardener overcome his grief and solve the case?
IMPERFECTION
2022
A TOTALLY GRIPPING MURDER MYSTERY
When theatregoers are treated to the gruesome spectacle of an actor’s lifeless body hanging on the stage, DI Stewart Gardener is immediately called in to investigate. Is the killer still in the audience? A lockdown is set in motion but it is soon apparent that the murderer is able to come and go unnoticed.
How do they do it? Is the killer a theatre worker or an actor? And what kind of grudge do they have to bear? Frustratingly, the killer leaves a trail of clues for the detectives. Taunted by these and flummoxed as to their meaning, DI Gardener realises that his own family may be in danger
Identifying and capturing the culprit will mean establishing the motive for their macabre crimes, but perhaps not before more victims meet their fate. Can DI Gardener succeed where he has failed in the past, and protect his own?
IMPERFECTION
2022
A TOTALLY GRIPPING MURDER MYSTERY
When theatregoers are treated to the gruesome spectacle of an actor’s lifeless body hanging on the stage, DI Stewart Gardener is immediately called in to investigate. Is the killer still in the audience? A lockdown is set in motion but it is soon apparent that the murderer is able to come and go unnoticed.
How do they do it? Is the killer a theatre worker or an actor? And what kind of grudge do they have to bear? Frustratingly, the killer leaves a trail of clues for the detectives. Taunted by these and flummoxed as to their meaning, DI Gardener realises that his own family may be in danger
Identifying and capturing the culprit will mean establishing the motive for their macabre crimes, but perhaps not before more victims meet their fate. Can DI Gardener succeed where he has failed in the past, and protect his own?
IMPLANT
2022
A ruthless criminal is picking off the inhabitants of a Yorkshire town. As the methods increase in cruelty, the pressure on the police mounts. A police constable ventures out in the middle of the night after a report about suspicious activity at a hardware store in a small town. The light is on, but no one seems to be around. Just a ringing phone that will start a manhunt.
When DI Gardener turns up to investigate further, he discovers a man in some difficulty. The kind of difficulties you experience when you’ve been screwed, crucifixion-style, to a wall. With the unfortunate victim – the nephew of the hardware shop’s owner – beyond help, the town is put under lock down. And every possible suspect, including the uncle, brought in. This is not an isolated incident, and the killer has more in store.
The detectives are soon led to another situation where a woman is perilously close to death. So close that it’s a matter of millimetres. Getting further in the case will require careful inspection of the crime scenes and the murderer’s torturous methods. In fact, they have been taunting the police by leaving a strange calling card. But only by working out the motive will DI Gardener catch the cruel killer.
IMPRESSION
2022
A series of murders threatens to side-line Yorkshire Police’s search for a missing girl
Sally Summerby charges into a Leeds police station, utterly distraught. Her five-year-old daughter has gone missing, presumably abducted. Yet despite mobilising all of their resources, the police can find no sign of the child. DI Stewart Gardener gets wind of the case when investigating the murder of a woman in her rented suburban house. She has been pinned to the floor with a bayonet. Yet under her body is a photo of the child.
The mother knows nothing of this woman. And she is clearly shocked when it is established the latter is a sex worker. But as several weeks have passed since the abduction, she becomes more and more desperate.
DI Gardener and his trusty sergeant Sean Reilly are also getting frustrated. A local businessman linked to the victim’s property has been poisoned. And to add to the detectives’ woes, a neighbourhood weirdo who fancies himself as a private detective and thinks he can solve the crimes keeps bothering them. Gardener is sure the cases are linked but the clock is ticking, resources are stretched, and the pressure is mounting to find who is responsible, and why.
IMPRESSION
2022
A series of murders threatens to side-line Yorkshire Police’s search for a missing girl
Sally Summerby charges into a Leeds police station, utterly distraught. Her five-year-old daughter has gone missing, presumably abducted. Yet despite mobilising all of their resources, the police can find no sign of the child. DI Stewart Gardener gets wind of the case when investigating the murder of a woman in her rented suburban house. She has been pinned to the floor with a bayonet. Yet under her body is a photo of the child.
The mother knows nothing of this woman. And she is clearly shocked when it is established the latter is a sex worker. But as several weeks have passed since the abduction, she becomes more and more desperate.
DI Gardener and his trusty sergeant Sean Reilly are also getting frustrated. A local businessman linked to the victim’s property has been poisoned. And to add to the detectives’ woes, a neighbourhood weirdo who fancies himself as a private detective and thinks he can solve the crimes keeps bothering them. Gardener is sure the cases are linked but the clock is ticking, resources are stretched, and the pressure is mounting to find who is responsible, and why.
IMPOSITION
2022
A burglary, a murder, and a killer who wears a mask. A woman is found dead in her bed, badly beaten. Precious items are missing from the house, including a Fender Stratocaster guitar belonging to her husband.
Was it just a burglary gone wrong? Perhaps it is not a motive DI Stewart Gardener should be looking for, but a pattern. And he needs to get to the bottom of the mystery fast, before someone else is hurt.
The culprit is an impostor, wearing masks that DI Gardener and his team must peel off layer by layer. But Gardener is not alone searching for the killer. Someone else is seeking retribution. When their paths cross, will justice or revenge triumph?
IMPOSTURE
2022
The dark side of the internet comes to disturb a sleepy Northern town
David Hunter and his wife are found dead in a small Yorkshire village. The apparent victims of a hit and run. They led successful and quiet lives, so police are stumped when looking for a motive. DI Stewart Gardener and DS Sean Reilly have their work cut out and soon some suspects emerge: a group of four closely connected individuals who are proving hard to trace.
Convinced this was not a random killing, the Leeds detectives venture into unknown terrain, the web of lies, fake identities and cyber crime called the internet. But when one of the suspects in the investigation is identified and found, the police are dismayed someone else got to them first. Dying from a nerve agent, he won’t be much help to the investigation. The race is on to catch up with all the persons of interest.
But dealing with skilled hackers who know how to move without leaving a trace, will stack the odds against the detectives.
IMPOSTURE
2022
The dark side of the internet comes to disturb a sleepy Northern town
David Hunter and his wife are found dead in a small Yorkshire village. The apparent victims of a hit and run. They led successful and quiet lives, so police are stumped when looking for a motive. DI Stewart Gardener and DS Sean Reilly have their work cut out and soon some suspects emerge: a group of four closely connected individuals who are proving hard to trace.
Convinced this was not a random killing, the Leeds detectives venture into unknown terrain, the web of lies, fake identities and cyber crime called the internet. But when one of the suspects in the investigation is identified and found, the police are dismayed someone else got to them first. Dying from a nerve agent, he won’t be much help to the investigation. The race is on to catch up with all the persons of interest.
But dealing with skilled hackers who know how to move without leaving a trace, will stack the odds against the detectives.
IMPASSIVE
2022
A hypnotically good murder mystery… read this and you’ll be spellbound!
DI Stewart Gardener is adding the final touches to his motorbike restoration project when a murder case drops a spanner in the works. A man has stumbled upon his publisher’s dead body hanging from a rope in Leeds’s Kirkstall Abbey.
Running his business on a shoestring, Max Knowles had racked up debts, though none appeared serious enough to drive him to commit suicide. DI Gardener’s Major Incident Team quickly establish the man was murdered. Yet finding the killer will prove harder.
As the mental health of a key witness unravels, an enigmatic hypnotist might hold the key to solving the case. But unless DI Gardener can join up the dots, a cunning stone-faced murderer will slip through his grasp.
IMPIOUS
2022
Sometimes justice comes at a price
A new release in a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ bestselling series!
DI Stewart Gardener and Detective Sergeant Sean Reilly face one of their most disturbing cases yet when a corpse is discovered in a disused property. It’s unrecognizable. Abominable. Frozen body parts belonging to four people have been sewn together as one.
In the mouth is a chess piece. Next to the body, a cryptic message about a girl. The detectives must quickly try to make sense of the scene, trace the victims and bring a sick mind to book.
But maybe the killer has other ideas…
IMPIOUS
2022
Sometimes justice comes at a price
A new release in a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ bestselling series!
DI Stewart Gardener and Detective Sergeant Sean Reilly face one of their most disturbing cases yet when a corpse is discovered in a disused property. It’s unrecognizable. Abominable. Frozen body parts belonging to four people have been sewn together as one.
In the mouth is a chess piece. Next to the body, a cryptic message about a girl. The detectives must quickly try to make sense of the scene, trace the victims and bring a sick mind to book.
But maybe the killer has other ideas…
IMPLICATION
2022
A cruel murder, a missing person case, and a string of heists puzzle police
On a misty morning, a jogger spots a burning vehicle in the middle of a Yorkshire field. When they arrive, the fire brigade realise it contains a dead body. Whoever torched the van did so to leave no trace at the scene, and DI Stewart Gardener struggles to identify the remains. Let alone establish the cause of death.
Could the victim be connected to a string of post-office robberies troubling the area, or are they related to a missing person case that’s quickly going cold? The incident room heats up with theories but the more various suspects are identified, the harder it becomes to work out who’s implicated in which crime.
Impaled
2023
A heinous crime spoils a veteran detective’s appetite
DI Stewart Gardener’s first romantic dinner with a love interest since the passing of his wife is interrupted by a call from the station. Someone has been killed, and it sounds nasty. The victim, found dead and tied to a chair in the bedroom of his house, has something like nails driven into his chest and his hands cut off.
With his trusted lieutenant, Sean Reilly, and the rest of the serious crimes team, Gardener tries to make sense of the violent death. Was the killer sending the detectives a message?
But with the only clue being a strange figure spotted leaving the scene dressed in a long coat and hat, and carrying a doctor’s bag, the detectives have little to go on. As theories are bandied around, Gardener begins to sense the answer is right in front of him. Can he unlock the secrets of the case before the killer strikes again?
Impaled
2023
A heinous crime spoils a veteran detective’s appetite
DI Stewart Gardener’s first romantic dinner with a love interest since the passing of his wife is interrupted by a call from the station. Someone has been killed, and it sounds nasty. The victim, found dead and tied to a chair in the bedroom of his house, has something like nails driven into his chest and his hands cut off.
With his trusted lieutenant, Sean Reilly, and the rest of the serious crimes team, Gardener tries to make sense of the violent death. Was the killer sending the detectives a message?
But with the only clue being a strange figure spotted leaving the scene dressed in a long coat and hat, and carrying a doctor’s bag, the detectives have little to go on. As theories are bandied around, Gardener begins to sense the answer is right in front of him. Can he unlock the secrets of the case before the killer strikes again?
RYDER ON THE STORM
2019
When builder Terry Johnson spots what he thinks is a bargain he can’t resist but to succumb to temptation. The large, detached house stands on the side of a railway track and would be perfect for his needs … and it’s cheap!
But Billington Manor has a very tainted history, and the grounds upon which it stands were part of an unsolved murder back in the 1850s. Terry is about to discover that the road to hell is not always paved with good intentions. Based upon a true incident, Ryder On The Storm is a stand-alone supernatural crime novella from the author of the IMP series, featuring desk sergeant Maurice Cragg.
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