Showing results by author "Stephen Puleston" in All Categories

Meet Detective Inspector Drake, a seasoned officer battling crime in the unforgiving landscape of North Wales. The scenery may be beautiful, but the violence is raw, personal and never far from the surface. A hard-edged British crime series rich in atmosphere and tension, these novels deliver authentic police procedurals where small communities hide big secrets — and murder cuts deep.

When the body of a homeless man is found at the foot of a church steeple in the middle of the harshest winters Cardiff has seen for years Inspector Marco’s superior wants the inquiry finished quickly. Even if it means the killer evades justice. But Marco isn’t happy, and he knows from bitter personal experience how tough life can be.

Welsh Inspector Ian Drake barely manages to keep his OCD under control. So, after two fellow police officers are brutally murdered on an isolated mountain route, the pressure to solve the case threatens to make him crack. But Drake feels his carefully constructed world falling apart when the killer taunts him with cryptic song lyrics and promises of more death.

Welsh Inspector Ian Drake is back on duty, but struggles as he comes to terms with his father’s death. When a fisherman is found impaled on the sand in a small island community, Drake comes up against a wall of silence. When a young girl is killed, Drake is stumped by the motive for her death. But with lots of money at stake with the development of a nearby nuclear power station, Drake believes there are powerful forces at work.

The body of man involved in two failed prosecutions for sexual violence is dumped on a secluded road. Marco has to face criticism from a community appalled by the failure of the police. When the mutilated body of a man with no suspected links to sexual offences is discovered Marco is convinced one killer is at work.

When DI John Marco discovers the body of Felix Bevard he knows instantly the killing was a professional hit. But the criminal underworld don't share secrets easily, and with no apparent motive, Marco is forced to delve into Bevard's murky past to try to find the murderer. As Marco examines Bevard's past crimes, one name keeps cropping up - notorious gangster Jimmy Walsh.

When a well-connected and wealthy banker is found dead in his luxury car in the middle of Cardiff, the motive for the crime seems clear. The killer even left a note telling the world the man deserved to die, simply for his greed. But despite the obvious clues, seasoned detective, John Marco has his doubts that this was just a disgruntled employee. Marco also has a gut feeling that the family of the victim are hiding something.

Investigating the disappearance of local antiques dealer Harry Jones is not high on DI Ian Drake’s priority list. He has more important things to spend his time on than looking for a man who has probably just walked out on his wife. Until they find Harry’s dead body. Drake knows they are dealing with a cold-blooded killer. But the valleys of Snowdonia are an unlikely place for a murderer to hide out, and Harry an unlikely victim.

Two startled shop assistants find the body of well-known businesswoman June Bennett hanging in a shop premises she owns. As suspicion falls upon her husband, the investigation takes an unexpected turn when the team uncovers "spin-off" parties of a more scandalous nature.

A body discovered in the river in the centre of Cardiff with its tongue amputated leads to more deaths in the Polish community. John Marco and his team have to delve into the East European immigrant community and uncover the murky world of people trafficking. But what is it that links all the deaths together?

The first three mysteries in the Inspector Marco series: The Cardiff Bay Murders, The Cardiff City Murders and The Roath Park Murders. Have you met Inspector Marco? He’s a detective in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. He loves his mother and football - not always in that order. And he loves to lock up the bad guys.

A murdered journalist was working on exposing the dark and sinister side of a cult led by a charismatic individual who Drake identifies as being their prime suspect. But the dead man’s private life isn’t what it appears to be, and soon the detectives identify other persons of interest.

Spilled Blood: Inspector Drake Series Books 1-3 of contains the first three books in this dynamic series. If you like engaging mysteries full of twists and turn and believable characters, then you’ll love Stephen Puleston’s unputdownable box set.

Detective Inspector Ian Drake is back in the third omnibus edition. This digital box set contains the 7th, 8th and 9th mysteries: Nowhere to Hide: Secrets can only stay buried for so long. Who would want Dawn Piper a quiet mother of one dead? Inspector Drake knows there is more to Dawn’s murder than a simple drug deal gone wrong. As he digs deeper, he discovers that Dawn hoped to clean up the streets of her community that are being overrun by drugs and the dangerous County Lines gangs that sell them. But in his toughest case to date Drake is determined to make the guilty pay.

When a witness in an important trial of two vicious criminals is killed suspicion immediately falls on both men. Drake faces the challenges of unravelling the dead’s man family and discovers everything is not as it seems. As another witness in the important case is killed Drake’s superior office is convinced the known felons are to blame. But the discovery that other witnesses my exist changes everything. Can he find them before the killer?

When the dead body of a woman is found on public display, the murder scene bears all the hallmarks of a famous work of art. DI Ian Drake knows he is dealing with a very creative and intelligent killer - one who enjoys having their work showcased for all to see. As more murders take place, each copying a famous work of art, Drake faces a murderer who always seems to be one step ahead.

Dealing with the fallout from a difficult case, Welsh Inspector Ian Drake faces a deadly foe as well as counselling for his OCD. When a ferry arrives in port, he knows a killer is on board. Unable to trace the killer after the ship berths, he fears the worse. Tension mounts when two more members of the crew are killed. When Drake’s cousin gets involved and he faces the implications of his father’s treatment for cancer, he struggles to face the challenges of tracking the killer.

When drug addict Dawn Piper is found dead in her own home, her neighbors are far from surprised. Dawn’s habit led her to mix with some dangerous people. But this quiet mother of one was small fry. Would anyone want Dawn dead? Inspector Drake knows there is more to Dawn’s murder than a simple drug deal gone wrong. As he digs deeper, he discovers that Dawn hoped to clean up the streets of her community that are being overrun by drugs and the dangerous County Lines gangs that sell them.

Inspector Drake is called to the holiday home of an eminent Manchester barrister and recently appointed judge to face the grizzly sight of his badly mutilated body. The scene resembles a copycat killing from years previously, when the barrister had prosecuted the perpetrator now serving life in prison. Drake realizes the killer might be targeting the judge, the legal teams, or the journalist who covered the original trial, and he embarks on a frantic search to identify and warn them all.

Lies concealed in darkness always find their way to light. Is a woman’s body discovered in a roadside ditch more than a hit and run? But when a colleague from her place of work is killed relationships made decades previously resurface. And the death of an extremist linked to the inquiry suggests it is unconnected to the first two deaths but Drake’s instinct tells him the inquiry is more complex than first appears. Which means a race against time to capture the killer.