Showing results by author "Michael Woods" in All Categories

All families have demons. Some are more deadly than others… From the dark mind behind the DCI Matilda Darke series, comes the new Dr Olivia Winter novel in a twisty and gripping new series. *Available to pre-order now* 'A hugely accomplished, immersive and thrilling read with a cracking main...

Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world's oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years.

A la mañana siguiente de una violenta tormenta, aparece el cuerpo de una adolescente vulnerable en el bosque. Presionada, la policía debe encontrar al asesino y resolver la tragedia lo antes posible, pero sin testigos y apenas pruebas, todo parece desmoronarse. Desesperados por encontrar al despiadado asesino, remueven mar y tierra hasta encontrar al hombre que buscan: un inadaptado social sin coartada. Cuando el sospechoso confiesa, el veredicto está claro. Pero dos mujeres sospechan que hay algo turbio y dedican sus vidas a averiguar qué sucedió realmente, cueste lo que cueste.

DCI Matilda Darke has been kidnapped and her nemesis, Steve Harrison, appears to be behind it. He’s currently residing in the supermax of Wakefield Prison and spends twenty-three hours a day in his cell, so how could he possibly be responsible? As Matilda’s team race to find her, they’re alerted to a body found in an abandoned car on the outskirts of Sheffield. With forensics scouring the woodland for clues, the last thing they expect is for the body count to rise. Meanwhile the search intensifies for the DCI when a video of her kidnapping is leaked to the media.

Nine months ago, DCI Matilda Darke survived a bullet to the head. The brutal attack claimed dozens of lives, including those she loved most, and the nightmares still plague her every waking thought. Now, she’s ready to get back on the job. But a new terror awaits. A woman is found murdered and her wounds look eerily similar to several cold cases. Desperate to find a lead, DCI Darke and her team must face a terrifying truth: a serial killer is on the loose in Sheffield.

A young boy walks into a police station in France. He claims to be Carl Meagan - a missing child from Sheffield whose name is still whispered as a warning to kids who stay out after dark. On her way home from the supermarket, nine-year-old Keeley Armitage vanishes without trace. Her family is overcome with shock and DCI Matilda Darke can’t help but focus on memories of the Carl Meagan case that almost ruined her career.

Du Fu (712-70) is one of China’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation. Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood follows in his footsteps to try to understand the places that inspired Du Fu to write some of the most famous and best-loved poetry the world has known.

DCI Matilda Darke receives an anonymous email from someone claiming to have committed the perfect murder. Experience tells her this isn’t possible, but as she investigates, she discovers a killer questioning everything she’s ever known. Now, Matilda is on the trail of a murderer who targets the most vulnerable people in society. Apart from ‘With Sympathy…’ cards, hand delivered to the family of his victims, he leaves no trace of his crimes.

With street crime at an all-time low, Matilda and her team finally find the time to dig into their backlog of cold cases. DI Brady has been tracing victims of systemic abuse at a local children’s home after a high-profile accusation pitched it into the spotlight—a case that couldn’t be more personal. Nothing could have prepared them for what they uncover next. As they piece together the disturbing picture of the history of the home, it soon becomes clear that this is much bigger than either of them ever suspected.

The morning after a wedding reception at a beautiful suburban home in Sheffield, the bride’s entire family are stabbed to death—in a frenzied attack more violent than anything DCI Matilda Darke could have imagined. Forensics point to a burglar on the run across the country. But cracks are starting to appear in Matilda’s team, someone is playing games with the evidence—and the killer might be closer to home than they thought....

When DCI Matilda Darke receives a mysterious telephone call, she immediately dismisses the threat. After all, the Homicide and Major Enquiries team are a regular target for prank calls. But ignoring this warning might soon be the biggest regret of Matilda Darke’s life. A lone gunman is on a deadly rampage around Sheffield, leaving a bloody trail in his wake. Taking his shots with a sickening precision, he’s about to leave his mark on the world and change Matilda and her team’s lives forever.

Then you're in for a treat. Volume three of our popular anthology series is sure to scratch that questionable itch. With stories by Michael Knost, William Joseph Roberts, Philip K. Booker, Christopher Woods, D. Raymond Smith, David Badurina, H.P. Holo, James Palmer, Jason Cordova, Lee Ellis, M Leigh, Michael Morton, Michael Craig, and Guest Editorial by Faith Hunter.

As DCI Matilda Darke unravels a chilling cold case, she discovers some truths are deadly – and someone will stop at nothing to keep the past buried… ‘Matilda Darke is the perfect heroine’ Elly Griffiths RUNNING FROM HER PAST Leaving behind Sheffield, her friends and her job, a grieving...

Dr Olivia Winter is a forensic psychologist whose job is to understand the minds of serial killers. There’s only one monster she can’t understand, her father.

On Sunday, February 3rd 1990, seven-year-old Danny Redpath disappeared from his home. Four months later, his body was found in the nearby forest, washed clean of all evidence. Over time, more bodies were discovered; more families devastated forever. Apprehended while attempting to abduct another child, Jonathan Egan-Walsh was charged with the murders of thirteen boys. Convicted on all counts, he received life in prison and went unrepentant, still refusing to reveal the whereabouts of one of his victims, Zachery Marshall.

Starling House is home to some of the nation’s deadliest teenagers, still too young for prison. When the latest arrival is found brutally murdered, DCI Matilda Darke and her team investigate, and discover a prison manager falling apart and a sabotaged security system. Neither the staff nor the inmates can be trusted. The only person Matilda believes is innocent is facing prison for the rest of his life. With time running out, she must solve the unsolvable to save a young man from his fate, and find a murderer in a house full of killers....

Following in the footsteps of the greatest Spanish adventurers, Michael Wood retraces the path of the conquistadors from Amazonia to Lake Titicaca, and from the deserts of North Mexico to the heights of Machu Picchu. As he travels the same routes as Hernán Cortés, Francisco, and Gonzalo Pizarro, Wood describes the dramatic events that accompanied the epic sixteenth-century Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires.

There’s a killer in your house. The Hangman waits in the darkness. He knows your darkest secrets. He’ll make you pay for all the crimes you have tried desperately to forget. And he is closer than you think. DCI Matilda Darke is running out of time. Fear is spreading throughout the city. As the body count rises, Matilda is targeted and her most trusted colleagues fall under suspicion. But can she keep those closest to her from harm? Or is it already too late?

DCI Matilda Darke and her team have been restricted under special measures after a series of calamitous scandals nearly brought down the South Yorkshire police force. Now Matilda is on the trail of another murderer, an expert in avoiding detection with no obvious motive but one obvious method. When his latest victim survives the attack despite her vocal cords being severed, Matilda is more convinced than ever of the guilt of her key suspect. If only she had a way to prove it.

For years, Aidan Cullen has dreamed of becoming a successful crime writer. When his hard work finally pays off and his first book is published, what should have been a night of celebration unravels into an evening of horror. Left for dead after a brutal attack, trauma leaves him paranoid and reclusive, and he retreats to the remote countryside with only his dog Nanook for company. With the world kept at arm’s length, he begins to feel safe. That is, until a woman is murdered at the end of his road.