Showing results by publisher "Quercus" in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

An hilarious and gripping festive whodunnit, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Agatha Christie It's Christmas Eve at the Merry Monarch. Nestled amongst the Yorkshire Dales, the pub is preparing to host its annual scavenger hunt for its rabble of regulars. There's the landlord, Mickey, his...

When a violent murder shatters the otherwise peaceful idyll of Andaby near Hebden Bridge, DS Charlotte Banks can't help but suspect that her brother Ewan—recently released from prison and now living in Calderdale—is behind it. Ewan claims he's innocent, and even has an alibi to prove it, but DS Banks isn't convinced. So much so that she turns to the only people who can help her in an investigation this personal: Kitt Hartley and Grace Edwards, of Hartley and Edwards Investigations.

A long, hot summer in Salisbury is broken by a sudden downpour. Flash floods and burst riverbanks bring something sinister to the surface - a partial human skeleton. When forensic testing matches the bones to a man named Lee Hall, reported missing some fifteen years earlier, the case is passed to DI Matt Lockyer. Hall was a known criminal and drug user. It looks like a simple case of accidental overdose, but Lockyer isn't so sure.

A group of vigilantes are carrying out a campaign of harassment against the homeless, hounding them both verbally and physically to get them off the streets. Jimmy Mullen is approached by his friend Gadge, who wants to confront the people behind it, but Jimmy has finally got his life back on track. He's working at a hostel for 18- to 25-year-olds, and he's reluctant to get involved in anything dodgy.

It's a perfectly normal day for Kitt Hartley at her job at the University of the Vale of York library, until Detective Inspector Halloran arrives at her desk to tell her that her best friend, Evie Bowes, is under suspicion of murder. Evie's ex-boyfriend Owen has been found dead - with a fountain pen stabbed through his heart - and all the evidence points to her. Kitt knows there is no way Evie could murder anyone - let alone Owen, whom she adored.

Kitt Hartley wakes to the news that a murder has been committed in Irendale, a village high on the wild Yorkshire moors where her boyfriend, DI Malcolm Halloran lived with his ex-wife until she, too, was murdered. The MO of the two crimes is identical, right down to the runic symbols carved into the victims' hands. Unable to leave it to the local police to solve, Kitt and Halloran travel to Irendale, where a literary mystery awaits. A line of Anglo-Saxon poetry found on the victim leads to a hiding place, and another cryptic clue.

Detective Inspector Matt Lockyer has been side-lined to working cold cases, following a bad decision he made in a recent investigation in order to support a friend. Lockyer isn't too bothered though, as it gives him the chance to review some of the cases that keep him up at night and to look into his own brother's senseless killing, which still remains unsolved. On a quiet afternoon, Lockyer receives a phone call from prisoner Hedy Lambert—a woman he put inside for murder 14 years ago. She informs him that the man she was originally accused of killing has turned up alive and well.

Rebellion in the city, and a Royalist spy in his own ranks - Damian Seeker, Captain of Oliver Cromwell's guard, must eradicate both in this action-packed historical thriller for fans of CJ Sansom, Rory Clements and The Three Musketeers. 'MacLean skilfully weaves together the disparate threads of...

One Way Street sees the welcome return of Jimmy Mullen, the homeless, PTSD-suffering veteran, as he attempts to rebuild his life following the events in The Man on the Street. As his probation officer constantly reminds him, all he needs to do is keep out of trouble. But then one of Jimmy's friends asks for help. Someone this friend was close to but has lost touch with is found dead in a dumpster, yet another victim of Newcastle's drug culture. Jimmy knows he shouldn't get involved, but loyalty compels him to try to find out what's really going on.

It started with a splash. Jimmy, a homeless veteran grappling with PTSD, did his best to pretend he hadn't heard it - the sound of something heavy falling into the Tyne at the height of an argument between two men on the riverbank. Not his fight. Then he sees the headline: Girl in Missing Dad Plea. The girl, Carrie, reminds him of someone he lost, and this makes his mind up: it's time to stop hiding from his past. But telling Carrie what he heard - or thought he heard - turns out to be just the beginning of the story.

How could your good friend become your worst enemy? I lost my child because of you, my only child. Eileen and Heather have always looked out for each other. But two years ago Eileen lost her son and she blames Heather and her family for the tragic loss. And I want you to know how that feels. Now...

Private Investigator Kitt Hartley and her twin sister, Rebecca, are preparing for a holiday in Scotland when cruise ship entertainer Errol Jackson appears at the door. Errol breaks the news that Bryce Griffin, a former smuggler and an old friend of Kitt's, has been murdered; his body found washed up by a lighthouse, bearing a gunshot wound. Kitt persuades Rebecca to cancel their trip, and, together with Kitt's assistant, Grace Edwards, and best friend, Evie Bowes, book onto the next cruise to Norway to help with the ongoing murder investigation.

The perfect husband...After a difficult pregnancy, Esther is grateful that her forward-thinking husband, Robin, offers to put his career on hold so that she can return to the job she loves. The perfect father...Robin flourishes in his new role of stay-at-home parent, but Esther finds leaving her daughter behind to go to work more challenging than she'd thought, and soon the imbalance in their relationship brings old tensions to the surface. A perfect lie? Then one day Esther arrives home from work to find Robin and Riley are missing.

A group of archaeologists are excavating a Bronze Age burial site in the grounds of Trusloe Hall, a minor stately home in Wiltshire. Excited that their dig is being filmed for a TV documentary, the group are camping onsite and having the time of their lives. In the blink of an eye, one of the party disappears: a young woman called Nazma Kirmani. An extensive police investigation fails to find any trace of her, and the case goes cold for over twenty years....

Written by a retired British soldier, Trouble at Zero Hour is a breathless and vivid story, dramatising three of the key Allied operations that turned the tide of the Second World War. 6 June, 1944, somewhere over the Normandy coastline: Robbie Stokes sits in a glider, his Bren resting on the floor between his outstretched legs. The nose lowers and the glider descends rapidly: 10 minutes of stomach-churning twists and turns until suddenly the call goes up to 'brace'. The belly makes contact with the ground and the first Allied troops tumble out into occupied Europe.

Dare you close your eyes for even a few seconds? One, two, three... Lisa Dale shuts her eyes and counts to 100 during a game of hide-and-seek. When she opens them, her four-year-old daughter, Ella, is gone. Disappeared without a trace. The police, the media and Lisa's family all think they know who snatched Ella. But what if the person who took her isn't a stranger? What if they are convinced they are doing the right thing? And what if Lisa's little girl is in danger of disappearing forever?

On a remote farm in the deepest Devonshire countryside, four pregnant women arrive at an exclusive yoga retreat for a five-star weekend of prenatal pampering. The location is idyllic. Their host, Selina, is eager to teach them all she knows about pregnancy and motherhood. But, like Selina, each of the women has a secret. And secrets can be deadly.

Faye is 39 and single. She's terrified she may never have the one thing she always wanted: a child of her own. Then she discovers a co-parenting app: Acorns. For men and women who want to have a baby, but don't want to do it alone. When she meets Louis through it, it feels as though the fates have aligned.

The loss of her mother has left Kali McKenzie with too many unanswered questions. But while clearing out Elena's art studio, she finds a drawer packed with postcards, each bearing an identical one-line message from a Canadian gallery owner called Susannah Gillespie: thinking of you. Who is this woman and what does she know about Elena's hidden past? Desperate to find out, Kali travels with her toddler, Finn, to Susannah's isolated home on a remote British Columbian island, a place of killer whales and storms.

Stalking, addiction and obsession - Detective Claire Boyle returns in this gripping new psychological thriller from Sinead Crowley, for fans of Patricia Gibney and Angela Marsons. Dear Elizabeth, I've been watching you. I hope to see you . . . Soon. Liz Cafferky is on the up. Rescued from her...