Showing results by author "Helen H. Durrant" in All Categories

A man is found dead in his bed, suffocated, covered in confetti and with his ring finger missing. Detective Rachel King informs his daughter and takes her to identify the body. But she's never seen the man before in her life. What if you don't even know who the killer really wanted to murder? Then a second murder. This time a woman, Alison, also suffocated and with her finger severed and confetti strewn over her body. The team desperately search for a link before anyone else dies. Meanwhile, someone has been running a property scam, selling dream houses that will never be built.

Annie Naden and her husband buy a remote country cottage at auction. It’s the home of their own that they always wanted, but as they begin renovations, Annie discovers a satchel in a dusty old hidden cupboard. Inside are the usual schoolbooks, now over 40 years old, and a girl’s diary. Among the record of day-to-day crushes and pop concerts is a secret whose terrible consequences are still resonating to this day.

Detectives Calladine and Bayliss hunt for a missing child in a mystery with a shocking ending. Sophie Alder is the three-year-old daughter of local factory owner, Richard Alder. Richard and his wife Annie are locals from the rough housing estate who’ve made it big. Plus, there’s a crime wave in Leesworth and the police can’t cope. One thief even dares to break into Calladine’s house. A number of local men have formed a vigilante group. On one of their patrols they catch the burglar and he ends up dead....

A teenage boy is found murdered in a local park, stabbed to death and set alight to destroy the evidence. Detectives Harry Lennox and Jess Wilde soon learn his identity and find his bedroom wall decorated with photographs of the victims of unsolved murders. There are images of three people who appear to be the next victims. One of them is the faceless man, a blank cut-out with no features. Jess and Harry must find the killer before the next target dies, and Harry is guarding a secret that could destroy everything he’s built.

A girl’s body is found in a dustbin. 'Dead Meat' is written on a note found with her. The girl was part of a group of bullies from the local school. But DI Calladine recognises the MO of Craig Donnelly, a killer he thought he’d put away forever. And coincidentally Donnelly has just been released from prison. But when Detective Calladine charges in, he finds out that Donnelly has a watertight alibi and is under the protection of the local vicar, who thinks Donnelly is a changed man. When another girl goes missing from the same group of friends, Calladine must look elsewhere....

A little girl, presumed dead, turns up playing happily in the park. She is barefoot but otherwise unharmed. The child’s mother who lives on a notorious local estate doesn’t seem bothered that her daughter has returned alive. Meanwhile, a man is tortured by a ruthless criminal. The victim’s severed hand is left on his wife’s doorstep.

A woman is murdered in an empty house. Within 24 hours there is another horrific murder using the same method. The detectives soon deduce that the victims are random, but the locations are not. The killer looks for the right house - somewhere he won't be disturbed. When a man confesses, it looks like the case is closed, but Detective Stephen Greco is unconvinced. Can he keep control when things get personal?

Twenty-five years ago, a schoolgirl was attacked. Ambushed by three bullies at her home where she lived alone with her granny. Now, the mother of one of those bullies is found murdered on the Hobfield housing estate. Written on the wall in the victim’s blood is the word “sorry”. Detective Tom Calladine and his partner DS Ruth Bayliss discover a link to some bones found at an old house up in the hills. It was the home of the teenage girl who was attacked. The detectives have more than this puzzling case on their hands.

A sweltering summer day on the Hobfield housing estate. New tenant Lisa Woodley is horrified when her cat comes home with a human foot in its mouth. The foot belongs to 16-year-old Noah Crosby, whose decomposing remains are found in a rubbish-strewn alleyway. It’s not a robbery, as the teen has an expensive gold watch, high-end trainers and a top-of-the-range mobile phone on him. Where did he get such expensive gear? A letter X is carved into Noah’s flesh. Twenty years ago this was the hallmark of a serial killer who was never caught.

Detectives Harry Lennox and Jess Wilde have never seen anything like it. The dead woman is dressed up like a Victorian doll. She’s wearing a long white dress, a bloodstained blonde wig and a mask with red cupid-bow lips. Beneath the mask, her face is beaten so badly, it’s unrecognisable. DNA identifies the victim as Lori Lansing, who was kidnapped three weeks ago. Her wealthy husband paid half a million pounds to secure her release – but he never saw his wife again. Then another young woman is reported missing.

A teenager is found dead, stabbed through the heart by a professional killer. Detective Stephen Greco and his team must find out who the victim was and work to piece together the backstory. Then 'The Knifeman' strikes again, leading DCI Greco into a depraved world of exploitation. How is drugs baron Vinny Costello involved? What is the connection with a private clinic that provides plastic surgery for the elite?

Two young men break into an expensive house in Cheshire. They take money and jewellery—and a large amount of heroin. Within twenty-four hours they are found brutally murdered. The killings have all the hallmarks of a local drug baron. The two victims were also “angels” helping in a community project which seems to have been lowering the crime rate in the area. But not everything is as it seems. Who is the mysterious ice-cold blonde woman who seems to be at the heart of the case?