Showing results by narrator "Jan Cramer" in All Categories

DI Zoe Finch has been in Cumbria long enough to know who’s pulling the strings in organised crime, and who’s helping them from within the police. But just as she’s closing in on the evidence to prove it, she finds herself scrambling in the fallout from the murder of a key witness, and struggling to keep the case out of the hands of the very man she suspects of orchestrating it.

DI Zoe Finch has enough on her plate as the trial of her deadliest enemy gets underway. But when a birdwatcher stumbles across a body in the shifting flatlands of the Solway coast, the evidence takes her team in some disturbing directions. Has the victim fallen foul of the same organised criminals Zoe has spent the last two years trying to put behind bars? Or could there be a connection with the disappearance of a man from a local caravan park years earlier?

Meet Detective Inspector Zoe Finch. She's ambitious, determined, and damaged. And she's about to uncover evidence that could make her career... or get her sacked.

DCI Lesley Clarke's two teams are in flux. The Major Crime Investigations Team has a new DI, and the Cold Cases team has a member back from parental leave. And Lesley herself is itching to get stuck into a case, instead of sitting behind a desk. When a body is found at the luxury beach huts on Mudeford Spit, the Cold Cases team know it's one of theirs, as the remains have been buried for over thirty years. But then evidence is found connecting a member of the Kelvin organised crime family, as well as Lesley's lawyer wife Elsa.

After the death of their father, sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood face financial ruin. At the mercy of their half brother, John, and his greedy wife, their only hope is to make a good match. But reduced circumstances make courtship difficult—especially after being turned out of their home. While responsible Elinor takes a practical approach to matters of the heart, Marianne throws herself in unreservedly. In Jane Austen’s first novel, two of literature’s most iconic characters discover that love demands a balance of passion and pragmatism.

I open the creaking oak front door of my beautiful country house to see a stranger on my doorstep. The woman is stunning with glossy red hair and flawless make up. "Can I help you?" I ask. That was my first mistake. Alexis tells me she is a distant relative and shows me a DNA match on her phone. She has no family and would love to get to know us. My husband Hugh invites her in to join our dinner party. As we drink wine, she opens up about her sad childhood. Her amber eyes are mesmerizing, and I can see my husband is being drawn in by her story. Then she asks for our help.

Sixteen years ago, Lizzie Armitage woke to find her newborn baby gone. Just days later, Lizzie was dead. Her sister Paula swore she would do everything she could to find the child. If she hadn’t promised to keep Lizzie's pregnancy secret, maybe the baby wouldn’t have disappeared. And maybe Lizzie would still be alive. But, in nearly a decade, Paula’s never found any trace. Until now...

Six-year-old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her bedroom. Her mother is distraught. She is convinced her estranged husband, Gavin Harper, has abducted their daughter. Detective Rachel Prince is leading the investigation but is soon out of her depth as she searches for the most high-profile missing child in the country. To uncover the truth about Lola’s disappearance, Rachel must untangle the Harper family’s complicated web of secrets and lies.

When DCI Lesley Clarke suffers an injury and is told to relocate from Birmingham to rural Dorset, she's expecting some peace and quiet. But before she even starts her new job, she witnesses a murder at the iconic Corfe Castle. Lesley must get to know her new team, learn a new patch, and solve the mystery. What's more, team are mourning the loss of her predecessor, DCI Tim Mackie, who allegedly committed suicide. But was Mackie's death suspicious? And did it involve someone in her team?

It is the year 1586. England is awash with traitors, plotting to assassinate the Queen and bring about a foreign invasion. The young physician Christoval Alvarez, a refugee from the horrors of the Portuguese Inquisition, is coerced into becoming a code-breaker and agent in Sir Francis Walsingham's secret service. In the race to thwart the plot, who will triumph - the ruthless conspirators or the equally ruthless State?

DCI Lesley Clarke is settling into her new job in Dorset's Major Crimes Unit, and becoming accustomed to a slower pace of life. But then she's called in to solve the murder of a woman with links to Lesley's new girlfriend. Has Lesley made a grave error of judgement? Can she track down the killer or does she already know her? And how will Lesley's new colleagues react when she tells them she's dating a suspect? The Clifftop Murders is the second instalment in the gripping Dorset Crime series, in which rural Dorset is a whole lot darker than the holiday brochures would have you think.

First published in 1792, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman tackles many of the punitive patriarchal attitudes that dominated 18th-century society. With warmth and passion, Mary Wollstonecraft urges women to prioritize reason over emotion - a necessary step in building the strength of character required to break free from male notions of female fragility and foolishness. Wollstonecraft bases much of her argument in the case for women's education.

After the sudden death of her husband, Christine Harvey would do anything to give her precious children Molly and Ryan a fresh start. The huge clifftop house she’s hastily purchased has the most breath-taking ocean view she’s ever seen. Surely here they can someday be happy again? But Christine had no idea that her family’s new dream house is right next door to where a child was abducted and murdered. And nobody told her that the father – who was the main suspect in the police investigation before it collapsed – still lives there.

DI Zoe Finch has solved three major cases and is establishing herself as West Midlands Police's newest detective inspector. But when a terror attack strikes Birmingham, she has to step up another gear. A member of her team is acting suspiciously, and may even be connected to the attack. And is the whole thing just a smokescreen for other criminal activity? The stakes are raised even higher for Zoe when her boss, DCI Lesley Clarke, is injured and must hand over responsibility for the investigation. Can Zoe uncover the truth and save the lives of two innocent women?

Morton Hall, with its beautiful, ruined grounds and its reclusive mistress, Emilia Morton, is full of mysteries. For freelance editor Anne Marie, the wild garden has become a serene and secret refuge from her loveless marriage. The only other regular visitor is Cape, the hall's part-time gardener, who is forbidden to tend to anything except the magnificent maze or to meet his enigmatic employer. When Emilia dies, Cape and Anne Marie are astonished to find themselves among an unlikely group of villagers named in her strange will.

DI Zoe Finch has a new job. New house, new boss, and new team too. She's been persuaded to move from Birmingham to Cumbria, to head up a team investigating some of the county's most complex crimes. But it isn't easy. Adjusting to rural life, not to mention navigating the politics of Cumbria Police, will be a challenge. And she's not sure who she can trust. And then, her work becomes linked to that of her partner Carl, whose job it is to chase down bent coppers. Zoe's been here before.

Tensions are high across Europe in the beginning of May 1940. Hitler’s forces have overrun Norway, and it’s only a matter of time before his focus turns to France. When Evelyn Ainsworth is sent to Brussels, she understands all too well the risk of remaining too long. The MI6 agent’s goal is to get in, pick up a package, meet with her Soviet contact, and get out again as quickly as possible. But even the best laid plans can go awry.

London, 2008. Chani Kaufman is a 19-year-old woman, betrothed to Baruch Levy, a young man whom she has seen only four times before their wedding day. The novel begins with Chani standing like a "pillar of salt", wearing a wedding dress that has been passed between members of her family and has the yellowed underarms and rows of alteration stitches to prove it. All of the cups of cold coffee and small talk with men referred to Chani’s parents have led up to this moment. But the happiness Chani and Baruch feel is more than counterbalanced by their anxiety....

In the dead of a swelteringly hot summer's night, Detective Erika Foster is called to a murder scene. The victim, a doctor, is found suffocated in bed. His wrists are bound and his eyes bulging through a clear plastic bag tied tight over his head. A few days later, another victim is found dead in exactly the same circumstances. As Erika and her team start digging deeper, they discover a calculated serial killer - stalking their victims before choosing the right moment to strike.

Meet DCI Lesley Clarke. She’s a straight-talking city copper who doesn’t suffer fools gladly… and she’s been transferred to rural Dorset. After being injured in a bomb attack, Lesley is presented with a choice — early retirement, or a period of respite in a calmer location. But things don’t stay calm for long. Before she’s even started her new job, Lesley is dragged into investigating a murder at one of England’s most iconic landmarks, the imposing Corfe Castle.