Showing results by author "Leigh Russell" in All Categories

The fair is in town in Ashton Mead, and everyone is keen to join in the fun—that is, until a young woman falls from the Ferris wheel and all fingers point to Emily's new friend, Dana. With her outsider status, mysterious past, and penchant for stretching the truth, who else could it be? As the villagers grow increasingly suspicious of the fairground people and tensions start to bubble, Emily vows to clear Dana's name and protect her friend, much to the dismay of those closest to her. But can Emily and her dog Poppy find the real culprit before the town erupts?

When DI Geraldine Steel relocates to the quiet rural town of Woolsmarsh, she expects to find her new home to be somewhere where nothing much ever happens; a space where she can battle her demons in private. But when she finds herself pitted against a twisted killer preying on local young women, she quickly discovers how wrong she is....

DI Geraldine Steel knows people go missing all the time; sometimes because they don't want to be found. So when her partner Ian asks her to look into the disappearance of his football-buddy's girlfriend, her first instinct is to reassure him there's no need for concern. Until she's called to a suspected murder, and all her instincts tell her she's right about the identity of the victim. The young woman has earth and leaf mould and fragments of twigs in her long fair hair, her nose, her mouth, under her finger nails, clinging to her clothes. It's as if she'd been completely encased in earth.

Emily is living happily in the quaint village of Ashton Mead, where every household is friendly – with one exception. Unlike the other villagers, Silas Strang and his mother are rude and aggressive. The other residents of Ashton Mead live in fear of upsetting the Strangs. When Silas attacks Emily's beloved dog, she decides it is time to confront the bully. Shortly after she threatens Silas, he is murdered. To Emily's dismay, the police regard her as a suspect. The only way she can prove her innocence is by discovering the real killer and proving their guilt.

Two murder victims and a suspect whose alibi appears open to doubt.... Geraldine Steel is plunged into a double murder investigation which threatens not only her career but her life. And then her previously unknown twin, Helena, turns up, with problems which are about to make Geraldine's life turn toxic in more ways than one.

A French patisserie opens in the village of Ashton Mead in time for Christmas. Local residents are pleased, but Hannah, owner of the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, feels threatened by the competition. When the owner of the patisserie is killed, Hannah is suspected of murdering her business rival. Her friend, Emily, is determined to clear Hannah's name. She seems to be facing an impossible task… until her little dog Poppy makes a surprising discovery.

Geraldine Steel is plunged into a double murder investigation which threatens not only her career but her life. And then her previously unknown twin, Helena, turns up, with problems which are about to make Geraldine's life turn toxic in more ways than one.

When a sex worker dies in suspicious circumstances in York, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel struggles to remain focused on the murder investigation: she is distracted by her worries about her colleague and life partner, Ian Peterson, who has disappeared. As Geraldine becomes close to her new DS, Matthew, she is unaware that Ian is working undercover in London, trying to identify a criminal gang who have been targeting her. As a second victim is discovered in York, and Ian's life is threatened by a psychopath the tension mounts.

Mark Abbott is dead. His sister refuses to believe it was suicide, but only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel will listen. When other members of Mark's family disappear, Geraldine's suspicions are confirmed. Taking a risk, Geraldine finds herself confronted by an adversary deadlier than any she has faced before.

When two people are murdered, their only connection lies buried in the past. As police search for the elusive killer, another body is discovered. Pursuing her first investigation in York, Geraldine Steel struggles to solve the baffling case. How can she expose the killer and rescue her shattered reputation when all the witnesses are being murdered?

DI Geraldine Steel is called to investigate the murder of a man who has been battered to death. His widow, Caroline, is terrorised into concealing the identity of the killer who then claims a second victim. This leaves Geraldine with a dark secret. The truth might help to solve the case, but it also threatens to cost Geraldine her career. When Caroline's 10-year-old son disappears, his distraught mother turns to the police, with fatal consequences.

A glamorous young TV soap star dies in a car crash. Returning for her sixth case, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel is baffled as the driver of the second vehicle miraculously survives - and vanishes. Another young actress is murdered, and once again the killer mysteriously disappears. Geraldine unwittingly risks her sergeant's life in their struggle to track down a serial killer who leaves no clues.

When the corpse of Abigail Kirby is discovered, the police are shocked to learn that the victim's tongue was cut out while she lay dying. Then, shortly after coming forward, a witness to the crime is blinded and murdered. Abigail Kirby's teenage daughter runs away from home to meet a girl who befriended her online; too late, she realises she has made a dreadful mistake - a mistake that may cost her life.

When a man dies in a gas explosion, the police suspect arson, and the Murder Investigation Team is called in to investigate. But the case takes on a new and terrible twist when a local villain is viciously attacked. As the police enquiries lead from the expensive Harchester Hill estate to the local brothel, a witness dies in a hit-and-run. Was it coincidence - or cold-blooded murder? The Murder Investigation Team has problems of its own – and so does Geraldine Steel. A shocking revelation threatens her peace of mind as the investigation races towards its dramatic climax.

A man is killed in an apparently random attack, and suspicion falls on a gang of muggers. Only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel thinks this is the work of a more deliberate murderer. Two more victims are discovered, after further seemingly indiscriminate attacks. The muggers are tracked down, with tragic consequences. And all the while the killer remains at large. When Geraldine finally manages to track down a witness, she finds her own life is in danger.

Living with her colleague and long time love interest, Detective Inspector Ian Peterson, it seems that Geraldine Steel has finally found happiness. But life is never that simple. As a psychopath starts killing random women on the streets of York, Geraldine is abducted by a drugs syndicate who have been threatening her sister. Geraldine has everything to fight for, and her life is on the line.

When a homeless man is found strangled to death, Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel is caught off guard by the cold-blooded nature of the crime. A second murder suggests the existence of a killer whose motive is as elusive as he is dangerous. In an investigation plagued by police scepticism, only Geraldine is relentless in her pursuit of the truth. As she is forced down unexpected avenues into the lives of three people caught in a toxic triangle of love and deceit, she discovers there is more to this case than any of them could have imagined.

When a hysterical mother reports her baby's sudden disappearance, suspicion immediately falls on the absent husband. But Detective Geraldine Steel's gut instinct tells her this case is not as simple as her colleagues think. Complications in the mother's life begin to surface, including her relationship with her controlling father, a controversial political figure. As the police investigate, their urgent attempt to find the missing infant grows ever more perplexing. Steel is forced to suspect everyone associated with the family and when a body is discovered, matters take a deadly turn.

When a young girl is found dead in the woods, all the evidence seems to point to the teacher she has just accused of molesting her. After all, with his career, and marriage, under threat, he appears to have the most to lose. But for DI Geraldine Steel things aren't adding up, even though her colleagues disagree, she is certain they have accused the wrong man.

Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel relocates to London to take on another harrowing murder investigation. The bodies of two black girls are discovered in quick succession in North London; two teeth from each victim extracted after death. One of the girls worked in a massage parlour and suspicion falls on a client of hers, a known racist, but while the police flounder, the killer takes another girl home to his attic, where he keeps his victims chained up while he shows them his 'collection'.