Showing results by publisher "Bookouture" in Crime Fiction

When a collection of human bones is unearthed during a routine archaeological dig, a Black Country field suddenly becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone. As the bones are sorted, it becomes clear that the grave contains more than one victim. The bodies hint at unimaginable horror, bearing the markings of bullet holes and animal traps. Forced to work alongside Detective Travis, with whom she shares a troubled past, Kim begins to uncover a dark, secretive relationship between the families who own the land in which the bodies were found.

A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn't add up. When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.

Deborah Jenkins pulls her coat around her as she sets out on her short walk home in the pouring rain. But she never makes it home that night. And she is never seen again.

Four years later, an abandoned baby girl is found wrapped in dirty rags on a doorstep. An anonymous phone call urges the police to run a DNA test on the baby. But nobody is prepared for the results. The newborn belongs to Deborah. She’s still alive.

A teacher goes missing under suspicious circumstances and a man is murdered at a local reservoir. For Detective Robyn Carter, there's no obvious link between the cases. But as she starts to delve into them, her investigations lead her to Abigail, perfect wife and mother to beautiful little Izzy. What was Abigail's connection to the victims? And why is she receiving threatening messages from an anonymous number?

On a cold icy morning, a mother wakes to find her daughter’s blood-soaked body frozen to the road. Who would carry out such a horrific killing on the victim’s doorstep? Straight off her last harrowing case, Detective Erika Foster is feeling fragile but determined to lead the investigation. As she sets to work, she finds reports of assaults in the same quiet South London suburb where the woman was killed. One chilling detail links them to the murder victim - they were all attacked by a figure in black wearing a gas mask.

When a battered suitcase containing the dismembered body of a young man washes up on the shore of the river Thames, Detective Erika Foster is shocked. She's worked on some terrifying cases but never seen anything like this before. As Erika and her team set to work, she makes the link with another victim - the body of a young woman dumped in an identical suitcase two weeks ago. Erika quickly realizes she's on the trail of a serial killer who's already made their next move.

Everyone in the small town of Denton is searching for Isabelle Coleman, a missing 17-year-old girl. All they've found so far is her phone and another girl they didn't even know was missing. Mute and completely unresponsive to the world around her, it's clear this mysterious girl has been damaged beyond repair. All Detective Josie Quinn can get from her is a name: Ramona. Currently suspended from the force for misconduct, Josie takes matters into her own hands as the name leads her to evidence linking the two girls.

The flood waters are rising. And so is the body count… Police officer Fiona MacLeish has been ordered to step back from her role in Police Scotland. Haunted by the murder of her parents, she’s dangerously close to breaking point: and is back in her remote childhood home nestled in a valley on the Scottish border. But there’s a terrifying storm coming…

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 a girl's body is found at a Midlands storage unit, it is too decomposed for Detective Robyn Carter to read the signs left by the killer. No one knows the woman in blue who rented the unit; her hired van can't be traced. But as the leads run dry, another body is uncovered. This time the killer's distinctive mark is plain to see, and matching scratches on the first victim's skeleton make Robyn suspect she's searching for a serial killer.

On a hot summer’s morning, a young father is found murdered in a cornfield outside the quiet town of Colton, tied to a post, arms spread wide. Detective Robyn Carter is reminded of the crucifixion, and she knows she’s looking for a killer with a twisted sense of right and wrong. Robyn vows she will find the killer - no matter what. But then a local doctor - a popular woman with a young family of her own - is found dead outside her surgery. There are similarities between the first body and hers, and Robyn must take another look at the picture-postcard town, where no one has any enemies.

When the body of Lola Evans is found in a local park on a cold winter's morning, Detective Alex King and her new recruit Chloe Lane are called in to lead the hunt for the killer. Chilling and totally compelling with an utterly surprising twist, The Girls in the Water is perfect for fans of Robert Bryndza, Sarah Hilary, and Patricia Gibney.

How do you catch a killer who knows your every move? She drew the curtains and returned to the kitchen where she removed the bottle of vodka from the freezer and reached for the large kitchen knife. If he dared to come back, she'd be ready for him. When a body is found hanging in the remains of a dock-side warehouse, detective Kate Matthews is called to the scene.

Jimmy Byrne is one of the biggest faces on the Soho scene. Equally feared and respected, he's clawed his way to the top. Money is his game, and he'll make it by any means necessary. When Jimmy sets his sights on shy, young Colleen Walsh, she is quickly seduced by his sweet words and the life of luxury he offers her. But behind the diamonds and fur coats lies the reality of gangland violence - and by the time she realizes the truth, she's already in too deep.

When 11-year-old Blair Smearton is abducted near a river bank on the hottest day of the year, no one can trace the man spotted taking her. Detective Anna Gwynne is back at work with her cold case unit following a brutal attack that nearly cost her her life. She’s investigating the death of young Rosie Dawson, whose bones were found hidden in a hole in the ground 10 years ago. The only lead Anna has is a photo of Rosie posted on a chat room hidden deep online. And then she finds one of Blair. Kidnapped. In the exact same dark room.

Hidden deep in the forest, schoolgirl Felicity Parker is found carefully laid out on a rock with nothing but a freshly picked bunch of flowers next to her lifeless form. Detective Jenna Alton is called in to investigate the gruesome discovery. With the body found just off a popular hiking route, Jenna believes the killer is a visitor to the town...until a second local girl is discovered.

Sixteen-year-old Emily had everything to live for, a bright, beautiful teenager with a promising future ahead of her. But in one night her life is cut short. The police say it’s an accident, but her parents think she was murdered. When Detective Rachel Prince is called in to investigate the shocking death at the height of the Edinburgh Festival, her instincts tell her that things are not as they first appear. Something is very wrong. Rachel discovers a chilling link with the suspicious death of another international student, who stayed in the same house as Emily two years earlier.

“Can you start right away?” I can hear the desperation in Dr. Roth’s voice. He’s longing for someone to look after his poor, sick wife Sabrina in their perfect Florida home. The job pays an awful lot. And I really need the money. As long as they don’t ask too many questions. I spend my days by Sabrina’s side. She has everything money could buy—a luxurious home, a handsome, doting husband who would do anything for her. But Sabrina rambles about the death of a child.

The body of Amos Price lies in a pool of blood on the polished floor of an otherwise empty house. With no signs of a break in and no clues left at the scene, Detective Jenna Alton is at a loss. But as the team begins to unpick the life of the reclusive victim, they discover a disturbing link between Amos and the disappearance of several young girls in the county going back years.

When police officer Fiona MacLeish stumbles upon a group of fellow hikers in dire trouble in the dramatic peaks of the Scottish Highlands, she has no choice but to help. One of the party has fallen off the path, lying below with the crisp white snow around his head starting to turn scarlet. Fiona soon learns the potential accident is actually a deliberate murder. But who would want to hurt this man and why? With visibility worsening and the snowstorm getting worse, Fiona and the group of hikers make it just in time to a nearby shelter.