Sharp left by the school and down the lane to the gas works. The gasworks? I, a dentist, heading for the gasworks in a small Welsh market town? It was the furnace I wanted... From the dramatic scenery of Snowdonia and the Gower to the stunning coastlines and hushed valleys, the landscapes of Wales have inspired many writers of Golden Age mystery stories - from within and without its borders. Centred around a lost novella by Cledwyn Hughes, this new collection features the best stories from celebrated Welsh authors such as Mary Fitt and Ethel Lina White, as well as short mysteries inspired by or set in the cities and wilds of the country by both beloved Golden Age writers and authors from the 1960s and 70s who continued to push the boundaries of the genre.

Douglas Hunter works as a police detective till his wife leaves him. Attempting to locate her, he abuses his access to police databases, is forced to resign and sets up as a private detective. Alison Ogilvie believes her husband is cheating. She engages Hunter to check out a meeting in Dublin he is due to attend. There is no meeting. Hunter is visited by his old boss, DS Maureen MacNeil. Hostile as ever, she demands access to his house to keep tabs on the disused church next door. When Ogilvie fails to come home, Hunter traces the car but not Alan himself. They are visited by DS MacNeil. A body thought to be that of Alan Ogilvie has been found in a rented cottage. Ogilvie died of auto-erotic asphyxiation. Questioned on suspicion of withholding information concerning her husband's death, Alison contacts a lawyer, Louise Galbraith. Although the evidence linking both Alison and Hunter to Alan Ogilvie is circumstantial, MacNeil has dreamt up a conspiracy theory linking the disappearance of Hunter's wife and the death of Alison's husband. Alison finds a colleague of her husband dead in her bathroom. Wanted by the Irish police for the murder of a prostitute, he has broken in looking for somewhere to hide and in the process severed an artery in the lower arm. Alison wants to dispose of the body, Hunter insists on contacting the police. MacNeil's suspicions are confirmed. The church is raided by the police, the NCA and the Border Force. Thirteen people are detained, two being people smugglers. A man working on a blocked drain discovers bones in Hunter's garden. That morning a letter arrives from a lawyer acting for his wife demanding half the value of their house. Despite what DS MacNeil may think, his wife is still alive. A pathologist confirms the bones in the garden are those of a dog. MacNeil interviews Hunter on suspicion of murdering his wife. After rehearsing the existing evidence MacNeil goes on to the bones found in his garden. A pathologist has attended, the remains must be Susan's. It becomes clear that MacNeil's judgement is impaired. A test confirms MacNeil is using cocaine. MacNeil's boss, DI Maitland confirms that Alison is no longer suspected of anything, including any involvement in the death of her husband's colleague. The day after Alan Ogilvie's funeral, Alison turns up on Hunter's doorstep. Her sister has decided to stay on to support her over the festive period - the last thing she wants. They quarrel. Alison has left her own house to escape from her sister's children. Hunter and Alison spend the night together. Like Susan before her, Alison is less than impressed by his performance. They will have to work on it.

Julia Bird adores a walk on a winter's day. The crunch of fresh show under your feet and the promise of hot cocoa by a roaring fire afterwards... But she's not expecting to find a body in the woods!

It's Christmas in Berrywick, the busiest time of year for dashing taxi driver Lewis. But when he's killed in a road accident, the entire village is shaken. Julia Bird, recently appointed to the Road Safety Committee, visits the site so that no other villager suffers the same fate. But when she spies a pendant left in the bushes, she feels certain Lewis's death was no accident...

As the festive lights twinkle in the village square, Julia vows to uncover the truth. She soon learns not everyone found Lewis's charm appealing. Sweetshop owner Dora says he had an eye for the ladies, much to his wife's frustration. Lewis recently gave his life savings to a mysterious businessman who proves difficult to track down. But could these be reasons enough to want him dead?

Then, local beekeeper Matthew is struck by a car near the Christmas market. Julia believes the two deaths must be linked, but contrary to Lewis, Matthew was as sweet as the honey he sold. Who could possibly want to hurt Berrywick's kindest man?

With no obvious leads, Julia stumbles upon an old picture that finally links Lewis and Matthew. Many years ago they were in a band poised for stardom, but when the bubble burst, their chance at fame vanished quicker than a glass of festive eggnog. Could someone be targeting the band members one by one? And can Julia track them down before the killer strikes again?

Bridget Reinhold is not exactly the adventurous type, but when her beloved sister Claire disappears in Southern Africa, nothing can keep her in England. Bridget launches herself into the search in Botswana and hits one obstacle after the other. Soon, her mission is plunged into turmoil as everything seems to be going wrong. Just coincidence or is there something paranormal at work?

Ranna Abramson wants to disappear. But she knows she can’t keep running when a former enemy tracks her down in Mumbai with dire news: her onetime lover, journalist Alex Derksen, has disappeared back home in South Africa.

Torn between her desire for him and fear of a homecoming, Ranna knows she’s the only one who can find him. But only two things in South Africa would welcome her—the inside of a cell or the bottom of a grave. There, to the police she’s the prime suspect in three murders. To the press, she’s the Black Widow serial killer.

Despite her instinct to stay away, Ranna makes the journey. But the key to finding Alex lies in her painful past. And to uncover it, she’ll need to unravel a web of secrets tied to a long-forgotten crime.

Even if she finds Alex before it’s too late, Ranna must answer for past sins…or risk losing him forever.

They arrive alive. They leave dead.But first, they give me their confessions and this time - it's all about FAMILY.Inside this book are 4 DeathBed Confessions that relate to family issues:Patient 424 is a father who just wanted to protect his little girl. Patient 1001 is a pig farmer who never should have had children.Patient 523 wants you to believe he's the brother of a mob boss.Patient 983 would argue she should receive the Mother of the Year award.WHO AM I? My name is Jack Steen and for those who arrive on my 'death' ward at the Asylum, I'm the last face many will see before they die. I am the night nurse at the Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Most of my patients are serial killers and mass murderers and they know me as the Angel of Death. When they come onto my floor, I offer a deal: tell me their story, their 'untold' story that hasn't been read about in the news, sensationalized by media or cataloged in a ridiculous number of academic papers. I want the real story - the one they haven't old anyone. Some of these killers have never confessed to their crimes, some kept certain information to themselves...those are the stories I want.If they give them to me, I'll make their death...easier. They're already dying, that's why they're now my patients. If they play nice, I can make their death less painful. But only if they play nice and tell me their confessions.The majority of these killers are expert manipulators. I realize they could be playing me and messing with my head. It's a chance I'm willing to take.And now...they might just be playing with yours too.Fans of Stephen King, Joe Hill and like to read books like The Bird Box, The Haunting and can't get enough stories about serial killers are going to enjoy reading the deathbed confessions from The Asylum.WARNING: There is swearing in this book. And some stories might be a trigger for something you have a hard time handling. But, these are the confessions of serial killers, mass murderers and such, so what do you expect?Want to read the next set of Confession books? Sign up for my mailing list over on my website - JackSteenBooks dot com.

'A real page-turner' Ian Rankin The Party House by Lin Anderson is a deeply atmospheric psychological thriller set in the Scottish Highlands for fans of Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware and Sarah Pearse's The Sanatorium. Devastated by a recent pandemic brought in by outsiders, the villagers of Blackrig in the Scottish Highlands are outraged when they find that the nearby estate plans to reopen its luxury 'party house' to tourists. As animosity sparks amongst the locals, part of the property is damaged and in the ensuing chaos, the body of a young girl is found in the wreck. Seventeen-year-old Ailsa Cummings went missing five years ago, never to be seen again - until now. The excavation of Ailsa's remains ignites old suspicions cast on the men of this small community, including Greg, the estate's gamekeeper. At the beginning of a burgeoning relationship with a new lover, Joanne, Greg is loath to discuss old wounds. Frightened by Greg's reaction to the missing girl's discovery, Joanne begins to doubt how well she knows this new man in her life. Then again, he's not the only one with secrets in their volatile relationship . . .

A brand new thriller about an injured cop fighting to bring down a pair of twisted killers.

Frustrated and bored, injured cop Sloan Cooper is looking for anything to distract her from staring down the barrel of months of slow, painful recovery. When a woman mysteriously vanishes without trace from a supermarket car park, Sloan instinctively knows there is more to this case than meets the eye. As she begins to investigate, she quickly uncovers similar cases across three states. Men and women, old and young - all with seemingly nothing in common.

What is the missing piece that links the disappearances? Can Sloan solve the puzzle before another innocent victim is taken? With no clues to speak of and a list of the missing growing almost daily, it will take every ounce of Sloan's endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case. She's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes...

There are no silent nights for Alex Cross, star of the Prime series, this Christmas. Someone is targeting Supreme Court justices, and Cross--and his family--are in the crosshairs too.

It's time to put the guns down, Detective Cross. Even if you knew the way out of this place, we would catch you.

In Washington, DC, the vigilante group Maestro is killing U.S. Supreme Court candidates.

As Alex Cross leads the FBI investigation, his wife, Bree, and his best friend and Metro PD partner, John Sampson, go missing while on a dangerous quest to identify Maestro's mastermind.

Alex has only three chances to save the people he loves most:

Number one: Find Bree and John.
Number two: Escape.
Number three: Survive.

If he fails, there will be no one left in the House of Cross.

A gripping thriller in the San Diego Case Files series from the bestselling author of Cold Blooded Liar and Cheater.

When homicide Detective Kit McKittrick and psychologist Sam Reeves discover a mutilated body in the desert outside San Diego, any number of people could be on their suspect list. The murder victim, local Councillor Brooks Munro, was a hated figure.

Following the killer's trail, it becomes clear that those who abducted Brooks - and his prized Ferrari - went to extreme lengths to cover their tracks and wipe out any witnesses.

As Kit and her team delve deeper, they uncover a twisted blackmail scheme worth millions of dollars. Brooks hadn't only been forcing money from his wealthy acquaintances, he'd also kept a secret list of their wrongdoings as protection - to be revealed on his death.

But now he is dead, where's the list? Who was helping with the extortion scheme? And who would kill to stop the blackmail and prevent the list becoming public?

'Stella Rimington was the first female director general of Britain’s MI5 and brings true authenticity to her tale of intellectual thievery' Irish Independent

A historic institution is hiding a very modern threat.

The student
Li Min, a Chinese student, is forced by her government to transfer from Harvard to Oxford University, where she is recruited to an elite Chinese study centre based out of St Felix’s College.

The scapegoat
Meanwhile, the centre’s newly recruited head stumbles on its more sinister purpose: recruiting Chinese and sympathetic British students to steal high-value research and intellectual property. Unsure who at the university he can trust, he turns to CIA agent Manon Tyler for help.

The spy who might be their only hope...
But as Li and another Chinese-American student are drawn deeper into a deadly game, will Manon be able to penetrate the heart of St Felix’s secrets in time to save them?

PRAISE FOR STELLA RIMINGTON:

'Intriguing and very cleverly-plotted' ALEX GERLIS

'Races along at breakneck speed. Packed with insider information, this is not one to miss' M. W. CRAVEN

'Damn good' Daily Telegraph

'A must-read for fans of contemporary spy fiction' Publishers Weekly

'This is something rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication, that is true to the character and spirit of intelligence work' Mail on Sunday