Jack Parlabane

Yeah, yeah, the usual. A crime. A corpse. A killer. Heard it. Except this stiff happens to be a Ponsonby, scion of a venerable Edinburgh medical clan, and the manner of his death speaks of unspeakable things. Why is the body displayed like a slice of beef? How come his hands are digitally challenged? And if it's not the corpse, what is that awful smell?

The murder of a media moghul in his country mansion appears to be the result of him disturbing a gang of would-be thieves. The robbers are swiftly caught, but when they are unexpectedly moved to a different prison they escape. Back in Edinburgh, a young solicitor reveals to the press that one of the subjects had left a letter with her some time before the break-in which proves his innocence.

Jack Parlabane is an investigative journalist who is not averse to breaking the law for a good story. Scottish parliament is in catatonic shock after experiencing its first dose of Westminster sleaze and the Catholic Church of Scotland is taking advantage of the politicians' discomfort. Behind the scenes the truth is obscured. Aware he's missing out on a great story; Parlabane discovers that contacts and a way with words is no defence against people he has helped to put away.

It was a junket, a freebie. A 'team-building' weekend in the highlands for lawyers, advertising execs, businessmen, even the head of a charity. Oh, and a journalist, specially solicited for his renowned and voluble scepticism - Jack Parlabane. Amid the flying paintballs and flowing Shiraz even the most cynical admit the organisers have pulled some surprises - stalkers in the forest, power cuts in the night, mass mobile phone thefts, disappearing staff, disappearing guests.

Do we really live on in some conscious form after we die, and is that form capable of communicating with the world of the living? “Aye, right…” was journalist Jack Parlabane’s stance on the matter. But this was before he found himself in the compromising position of being not only dead himself but dead with an exclusive still to file. One thing he knows for certain: death is not the end - it’s the ultimate undercover assignment.

Life is dangerous when you have everything to lose. Famous, beautiful, and talented, Heike Gunn has the world at her feet. Then, one day, she simply vanishes. Meanwhile journalist Jack Parlabane has lost everything: his career, his marriage, his self-respect. A call for help from an old friend offers a chance for redemption - but only if he can find out what happened to Heike.

Civil servant Kendra has spent her whole life struggling against the Etonian powers-that-be. So when she realises her boss is up to no good, she turns whistle-blower, calling a journalist who is looking for a way to fight back himself. Jack Parlabane is a hack who will go to desperate lengths for a good story. Reduced to peddling PR puff pieces, he is delighted when Kendra's information threatens to blow up a national corruption case. But Parlabane soon realises this story might prove dangerous to both of them.

There is no perfect marriage. There is no perfect murder. Diana Jager's life crumbles when her details are released on the Internet as revenge for her antisexism blog. Then she meets Peter. Within six months, they are married. Within six more, Peter is dead in a road accident - a nightmare end to their fairy-tale romance. But Peter's sister, Lucy, doesn't believe in fairy tales and tasks maverick reporter Jack Parlabane with discovering the dark truth behind the woman the media is calling 'Black Widow'.

From Scottish crime master Christopher Brookmyre, Black Widow tells the potent story of a woman who thought she was too late for love, the man who falls for her ambition, and the secret selves that are poised, at any moment, to end everything.

Sam Morpeth is left to fend for her younger sister when their mother goes to prison. But when a stranger begins to blackmail her online, she's drawn her into a trap she may not escape alive. Reporter Jack Parlabane is indebted to a volatile source, and now that debt is being called in, it could cost him everything. Thrown together by a common enemy, Sam and Jack are about to discover they have more in common than they realise - and might be each other's only hope.

Sam Morpeth has had to grow up way too fast. Left to fend for a younger sister with learning difficulties when their mother goes to prison, she is forced to watch her dreams of university evaporate. But Sam learns what it is to be truly powerless when a stranger begins to blackmail her online. Meanwhile, reporter Jack Parlabane seems to have finally gotten his career back on track with a job at a flashy online news start-up, but his success has left him indebted to a volatile source on the wrong side of the law.