When the body of a young woman, wearing climbing shoes but no helmet, is found at the foot of a cliff in the Derbyshire gritstone edges, the emergency services are quick to treat her death as an accident, the result of a fall from a height onto a bed of rocks and boulders. The police have bigger fish to fry anyway - a violent and dangerous offender has escaped from his prison escort on the way to court and is at large on the Derbyshire moors, starting a massive manhunt involving scores of officers. That might have been the end of the story as far as the dead woman was concerned: just another victim of a hazardous activity. Her husband identifies the body as his wife. He prepares for the funeral. Her family and work colleagues grieve. A climbing accident was how Detective Sergeant Woodman first saw the incident as well. But further information leads him to question his initial view and he begins to suspect 'foul play'. A murder investigation is launched. The investigation is far from straightforward. It is hindered by mistakes and misfortune. There is incompetence, interference by a maverick officer, and even the inclement winter weather works against the proper conduct of the enquiry. And those investigating are still reeling from the events of one of the most notorious and savage series of murders in English criminal history.

A Game of Four ....Ralph Connor arrives at work one morning to find his world turned upside down by a sinister, cloaked character known as the Watcher, who claims to have kidnapped his wife and seems to mysteriously know his every move and deepest, most innermost secrets..... .....Ralph unwittingly becomes the key player in a deadly battle of wits with a psychopathic rival, whose sole obsession is to destroy the very core of his world, by any means....

INTRODUCING MAGGIE BIRD

IN A RIVETING NEW SERIES FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Maggie Bird is many things. A chicken farmer. A good neighbour. A seemingly average retiree living in the seaside town of Purity. She's also a darned good rifle shot. And she never talks about her past.

But when an unidentified body is left on Maggie's driveway, she knows it's a calling card from old times. It's been fifteen years since the failed mission that ended her career as a spy, and cost her far more than her job.

Step forward the 'Martini Club' - Maggie's silver-haired book group (to anyone who asks), and a cohort of former spies behind closed doors. With the help of her old friends - and always one step ahead of the persistent local cop - Maggie might still be able to save the life she's built.

IT'S THE PERFECT PLACE TO RETIRE . . . UNTIL THEY FIND YOU.

During a time of darkness a Winged prince is s ent by the gods to kill the evil King hell bent on ruling all around him. But will he succeed and face the land of evil?

In Defence of the Realm the matter of returning Jihadist fighters to this country has created a political storm. Despite the majority of these men, and some women, having valid British passports, their return could spell danger. It was in these difficult circumstances that MI5, and 6 worked together to bring these people to court before they could cause damage. In this story we follow the adventures of several of these agents as they carry out their task, frequently travelling abroad in what are still war zones to interview these suspects who are detained there. In wartime, life has little value, and only by bringing peace, and stability to these afflicted countries will it regain its true worth.

Caroline is determined to discover the truth at all costs. Would you probe the secrets of an old house or let them rest in peace? See how a woman finds something hidden from the world since World War II. You will laugh, cry and feel her every emotion. Author's note: this is my first novel inspired by the research done on my own house.

Vox meets The Handmaid’s Tale in this feminist reimagining of 1984.

In Oceania, whoever you are, Big Brother is always watching you and trust is a luxury that no one has. Julia is the seemingly perfect example of what women in Oceania should be: dutiful, useful, subservient, meek. But Julia hides a secret. A secret that would lead to her death if it is discovered. For Julia is part of the underground movement called The Sisterhood, whose main goal is to find members of The Brotherhood, the anti-Party vigilante group, and help them to overthrow Big Brother. Only then can everyone be truly free.

When Julia thinks she’s found a potential member of The Brotherhood, it seems like their goal might finally be in their grasp. But as she gets closer to Winston Smith, Julia’s past starts to catch up with her and we soon realise that she has many more secrets than we’d first imagined – and that overthrowing Big Brother might cost her everything – but if you have nothing left to lose then you don’t mind playing the game . . .

This is a story about love, about family, about being a woman, a mother, a sister, a friend and ultimately about what you would sacrifice for the greater good.

You’ve known her all your life . . .

Or have you?

Tasha and sister Alice look alike, but couldn’t be more different.
Tasha’s married with kids, settled near their home town of Bristol.
While Alice travels the world with her husband. Yet each trusts the other with her life.

So when Tasha wants a break,Alice offers to stay in her home with the kids, so her sister can have a holiday. Tasha knows they’re in safe hands.

She couldn’t be more wrong.

The call sends Tasha rushing home.
Alice is in intensive care.
Her husband is dead.

The police are hunting for suspects and motives.
But Tasha can’t think why anyone would hurt her sister.
Then the note arrives, addressed to Tasha:

It was supposed to be you . . .

Following his “resurrection walk” and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.

Representing the victim’s family, Mickey’s case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy’s digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistleblower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake.

It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM’s Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called “the knight’s sacrifice.” Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.

Dead Against It is the third book in Katie Gray’s `Dead Series`. Pippsy and Jack Standage move home and business to an immaculate house in Buckinghamshire. They are dismayed when shortly after their arrival two `heavies’ appear on their doorstep. The men demand access to the loft and remove trunks and boxes apparently belonging to the previous owner. This is only the beginning as the men return to clear more boxes two days later. A brother and sister engage them to investigate their mother’s new husband, who they suspect is planning to kill her. The mysterious removals from the loft and the suspicions of the brother and sister become linked up. The discovery of two skeletons and nefarious goings on at a run–down Priory all provide Pippsy and Jack with their strangest case yet.

The Overnight Kidnapper is the twenty-third Inspector Montalbano mystery, from the international bestselling author Andrea Camilleri.

After a hectic morning involving two rather irritating cases of mistaken identity, Inspector Montalbano finally arrives in his office ready find out what's troubling Vigàta this week. What he discovers is unnerving. A woman on her way home from work has been held up at gunpoint, chloroformed and kidnapped, but then released just hours later – unharmed and with all her possessions – into the open countryside.

Later that day, Montalbano hears from Enzo, the owner of his favourite restaurant, that his niece has recently been the victim of the exact same crime. Before long, a third instance of this baffling overnight kidnapping has been reported.

As far as Montalbano can tell, there is no link between the attacker and the victims. So what exactly is this mystery assailant gaining from these fleeting kidnappings? And what can he do to stop them? Montalbano must use all his logic and intuition if he is to answer these pressing questions before the kidnapper finds his next victim . . .

NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER
 
NOT EVEN SCARPETTA…
 
During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again.

The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds.
 
Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta’s past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next…

Meet DI HILLARY GREENE, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals. Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies' man. DI Hillary Greene discovers that many wealthy married women were buying his paintings and taking 'private' art lesson from him. It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead. Hillary also has a new detective sergeant, Gemma Fordham. Seemingly efficient and pleasant, she harbours a secret agenda. Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder?

In A Conflict of Interest we follow the further adventures of Mark Ordish alias Alpha One Zero. He is still with the Kurdish Peshmerga Brigades, but this time they are working with Iraqi forces in capturing villages still in ISIS hands in their approach to Mosul. In the assult on Mosul the Kurds for political reasons are excluded from the main attack, and are tasked to seal any escape avenue to the north. To Mark, and his American colleague the various interests of the surrounding countries is only delaying the inevitable, but this is the frustration, and dangers that they face along with suicide bombers, and improvised explosive devices. This books is dedicated to all Royal Marines - past, present and future.

AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING CRIME MYSTERY WITH A MASSIVE TWIST A murdered woman found executed by a single gunshot. And worse is to come. Detective Rachel King has two victims to deal with. The first woman was local nurse, Agnes Moore. One of the victim's friends makes contact but then disappears. Does Rachel have a serial killer on her hands? And what was Agnes really helping local girls with? Meanwhile Rachel's former lover, well-known villain Jed McAteer, come back to haunt her with his connections to the victims. Who will pay the ultimate price next?

Jack Reeca s hurting. Wounded three times by his old enemy, psychopathic killer David Walker, hea s got his life back a " just a " with the help of two fun-loving seA+/-oritas. But when Jack starts diving for Brinks Mat gold bars in MA!laga Lakes, and is befriended by beautiful rock sensation, Caviar, his Andalusian farm attracts attention from all the wrong quarters, including David Walker. The psycho has made a fresh kill, and is now branded a the Rabbit Mana and a the Costa Killera . And then Caviar goes missinga | With the action swinging from southern Spain to the Black Sea coast of Turkey, the intimacies of kidnapping and revenge are fully explored. Ita s the Stockholm syndrome, and ita s often sexual, sometimes humorous and frequently violent. Desmond McGratha s insight into the minds of killer captive and pursuer is breathtaking, and in an epic showdown worthy of a Clint Eastwood Western, we see how an armed man whoa s frightened of nothing can harbour a secret terror a " of the beast inside himself.

You told each other everything. Then she told you too much.

Kit has risen to the top of her profession and is on the brink of achieving everything she wanted. She hasn’t let anything stop her.

But now someone else is standing in her way – Diane. Best friends at seventeen, their shared ambition made them inseparable. Until the day Diane told Kit her secret – the worst thing she’d ever done, the worst thing Kit could imagine – and it blew their friendship apart.

Kit is still the only person who knows what Diane did. And now Diane knows something about Kit that could destroy everything she’s worked so hard for.

How far would Kit go, to make the hard work, the sacrifice, worth it in the end? What wouldn’t she give up? Diane thinks Kit is just like her. Maybe she’s right. Ambition: it’s in the blood . . .

Give Me Your Hand is the latest blistering thriller from Megan Abbott.