Cornish Crime

When Cressida Fawcett is invited to stay at Penbeagle House on the Cornish coast for a fancy-dress ball, she is looking forward to sipping rum cocktails clad as a pirate, watching the red-sailed boats go by, and relaxing in the sea air with her good friend Dotty. But before they can raise their glasses to toast Cressida’s former flame Lord Canterbury’s engagement, he drops dead in front of the horrified guests.

The reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside - but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish. But the vicar's peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, an ill-tempered magistrate, is found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head. The local police inspector is baffled by the lack of clues.

When a body turned up at her last catering gig it certainly put people off the hors d’oeuvres. With a reputation to salvage, Jodie’s determined that her next job for the village’s festival will go off without a hitch. But when chaos breaks out, Jodie Parker somehow always finds herself caught up in the picture. The body of a writer from the festival is discovered at the bottom of a cliff, and the prime suspect turns out to be the guest of honour, the esteemed painter Duncan Stovall.

Neil Kettle is a detective chief inspector with Devon and Cornwall Police Force, in charge of the major crime investigation team. A widower, he comes through depression by using his work as support. A countryman, the son of a farmer, Neil is in touch with the landscape as he hunts down serial killers, murderers, drugs and weapons smugglers, human traffickers, rustlers, and even the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

In the picturesque seaside town of St Ives, Detective Sergeant Sophie Keane is a pillar of the community. Between the occasional collar and lazy weekends spent on the beach, it seems a perfect life. But for Sophie, the golden sands and crystal waters hide a dark secret, one that's lain buried for twenty years. When a body turns up on the opening night of a glittering new art gallery on the seafront, the town is left shaken—especially Sophie, who recognizes the killer's style but knows that what she fears just couldn't be possible.

A serial killer, known as The Watcher, is terrorizing the small market town of Liskerrett, Cornwall, and the surrounding area, taking victims seemingly at random and with great expertise. Neil Kettle is running a major murder investigation as he struggles with depression, a delayed reaction to the accidental death of his wife four years ago. Three people have been murdered - a child, an old woman, and an American tourist - all dying by different methods.

A pensioner is found drowned on a beach used by naturists. An autopsy shows his death was violent, that he'd been sexually molested. Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kettle is a grieving widower of three years. The last time he visited this beach was with his wife. Already running investigations into human trafficking and the smuggling of drugs and weapons, Neil's enquiries into the victim's life reveal links to a shady millionaire car dealer, Rupert Mansard, a man who's risen from nowhere to prosperity.

"The Cornish Mystery" presents readers with another engaging short story featuring the meticulous Hercule Poirot, created by the legendary Agatha Christie. In this narrative, Poirot finds himself drawn into the enigmatic world of Cornwall as he investigates a seemingly straightforward case involving a missing woman and a tangled web of family secrets.

It's a long, hot summer — good for Cornwall, which depends on tourist income — but bad for crime. The heatwave drives people mad, and two corpses are found on Bodmin Moor. No one has missed the victims. The corpse of a mysterious elderly woman is found floating in a flooded quarry. Dressed in a 1950s ballgown, she carries no identification and can't be traced.

Who is acting as judge, jury, and executioner? Someone is running a campaign of retribution against people with lax morals. Kidnapping, arson, and blackmail are bad enough, but then the head of a convicted paedophile is found wedged onto a road signpost at a location where ancient public executions took place. Various local businessmen and politicians have been blackmailed with incriminating evidence, fined £20,000 to encourage them to improve their behaviour.

Murder victims are like buses - they arrive together. Two corpses are found within minutes of each other in Saint Ives Bay. DCI Neil Kettle is a keen amateur painter, so the bizarre death of an arts graduate, found underwater encased in a concrete statue, enrages him. And is she linked to a down-on-his-luck Latvian trawlerman washed up on the rocks of Godrevy Island Lighthouse, his throat cut?

After six long months with no new cases for her Edge of the World Detective Agency, Donna ‘Deadly’ Nightshade jumps at the chance to spend a weekend undercover on St Michael’s Mount. With seven high profile attendees – including the Home Secretary – Donna doesn’t expect much tension. But as a storm descends on the tidal island, and they’re cut off from the rest of the world, friends turn to enemies and before the rain has ceased it’s not just one murder Donna has to worry about – it’s two.

The Cornish Scoop is a novel, but I’ll be totally honest, there’s very little I’ve had to imagine, as I have experienced the majority of the content in this book in my career as a police officer. Treavey is a Cornish police officer who is just out of his probation in 1994 and making it alone in the big wide world of policing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this very much reflects the time and locations of my own policing experience, so I will leave it up to you which parts are made up and which are true. Remember that life tends to be stranger than fiction!

A gripping financial thriller where corporate greed and corruption abound.... When widow and single parent Cynthia Webber discovers a body during the routine financial statement audit of a prestigious and controversial pipeline company, her whole world is turned upside down. Her career and life are threatened by her boss when he turns up unexpectedly at her son’s daycare, posing as her brother. When she ignores his threats and goes to the police, she finds herself alone and unjustly dismissed.

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Cornish Mystery,” Poirot is asked to help a Cornwall woman who believes she is being poisoned by her husband. When Poirot and Hastings visit her home, they are shocked to find she has died. But is it really her husband who did the poisoning? This short story originally appeared in the November 28, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

When Sutton Calhoun shook the dust of Bitterwood, Tennessee, off his boots, he never thought he'd return. But now he's back to investigate an unsolved murder and has teamed up with police detective Ivy Hawkins - the only part of the Smoky Mountain hamlet worth remembering. Ivy is a hometown girl and well aware of Sutton's reputation. She can't help but find his smoldering eyes resurrecting long-buried feelings. Plus, as the body count rises, Sutton is the only one who believes her that an eerily methodical serial killer is living among them in Bitterwood....

Forensic accountant Cynthia Webber is used to finding missing numbers. Now she must find a missing person before it’s too late.... When Cynthia is given a journal containing allegations of financial fraud, she’s horrified to discover the missing woman it belongs to has been harassed and threatened by her employer, Calgary’s local racetrack and casino. An evening out at the casino ends badly for Cynthia’s best friend, investigative reporter Linda Reeves, and Cynthia is forced to ante up her investigation.

"Shooter in the Park" is more than just a story; it is a testament to the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity, a reminder of the bonds that unite us in times of sorrow and strife. Through the eyes of Jack, a seasoned patrolman, we witness the ordinary moments of a city on the brink of change, and the extraordinary events that shape its destiny.

Port Stevens, once a thriving waterfront town with a rich history of resilience and unity, finds itself caught in the crosscurrents of gentrification, fear, and the enigmatic decisions of those who hold its fate in their hands. The characters in this story navigate through the complexities of a community haunted by both external threats and internal strife, exposing the fragility of prosperity and the lengths to which powerful forces will go to maintain their dominion.

Martha works for an advertising agency, filming a TV commercial on location on the stunning Cornish coast. The client is the eccentric owner of a chemicals company that has invented a new, almost irresistible perfume, and Martha is in charge of shooting the romantic ads - unfortunately starring his beautiful but highly manipulative daughter-in-law. Before long, Martha finds herself embroiled in the conspiracy over the perfume's true origin.