Showing results by author "John Carson" in All Categories

After putting a stop to one of Edinburgh's most notorious serial killers 3 years ago, DCI Liam Brodie is known as a man who can handle - and solve - the hardest of cases. When a child's bones are unearthed beneath the floorboards of an old house in Fife - the same house where his girlfriend, psychologist Ruth Calder, grew up as a foster daughter - Brodie uncovers a tangled web of lies and jealousy.

DCI Sean Bracken is about to buy a house, his ex-wife is talking about getting married, and his father drops a bombshell. He has very little time to get involved with solving a murder, but that's what is thrown into his lap. A young woman found beaten and burned in an old building will be taking up Bracken's every waking minute. He has seen victims like this before, battered almost beyond recognition, a crime that is more than personal. With the crime taking priority, it leaves time for little else and takes Bracken into a world he knew existed but hadn't navigated before.

He caught him once before. Can he do it again? With Harry McNeil’s life changed forever, he is thrust back into work when a serial killer dies in prison. Harry helped bring him to justice, but even in death, the man has something to say. A message is found at the man’s post mortem. A message for Harry. It isn’t over. An informant in prison claims that the killer bragged about more victims, but none were ever found. Until now. But these victims aren’t from the past. They’re from the present. Just because the mentor is dead, doesn’t mean his spirit doesn’t live on…

Soon to be seen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, welcome to the casino city of Canto Bight. A place where exotic aliens, captivating creatures, and other would-be high rollers are willing to risk everything to make their fortunes. Set across one fateful evening, these four original novellas explore...

Doctor Angela Monroe is found dead at the foot of Salisbury Crags on Arthur's Seat. An avid runner, it first appears that she fell to her death. Until the pathologist deems it murder. It's the night of the summer solstice, and people have been celebrating on the famous dormant volcano. DCI Sean Bracken and his team are called in to lead the investigation. Monroe was a well-respected professor, lecturing at a local university, who had no known enemies and was a private person who kept to herself.

A woman is found dead, brutally murdered, her death made to look like an accident. DCI Sean Bracken is called in and discovers that the young woman has a very powerful father. Was somebody trying to get back at him, or has the woman's secrets finally caught up with her? Bracken also has to deal with the mysterious arson attack on his boss' house. And a name from the past resurfaces, a name that Bracken thought was dead and buried.

Edinburgh DCI Harry McNeil isn’t easily intimidated. But after years investigating crooked cops, a promotion heading up a Major Investigation Team will put his reputation on the line. And he’s starting to sweat when the daughter of a rich and powerful family vanishes from the honeymoon suite in a Scottish Highlands castle….

The body of a teenager is found near Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, wrapped in plastic. She went missing five years ago but it's obvious she only died recently.

Edinburgh DCI Harry McNeil’s dangerous job wasn’t made for relationships. So when a officer’s remains wash up in a canal, it feels like proof he was right to leave his long-time girlfriend. It looked like a simple murder case. But the victim’s false identity is just the beginning. And someone is determined to make certain those secrets never come to light.

When a body is discovered on a carousel at the fair in The Meadows in Edinburgh, it brings back memories for DCI Harry McNeil. He had history with the man, having arrested him many years ago. The victim was a high-flying politician, destined for great things, but did his secrets catch up with him? Or were the death threats he’d received not taken seriously enough?

As the end of the year draws to a close, Detective Chief Inspector Sean Bracken is called to a murder scene near the Writer's Museum. The body of a woman is sitting on a bench in the square, her frozen hand holding a paperback. The book is by famous American professor of psychology and crime writer Edwin Hawk, who has just ended a book tour, culminating in Edinburgh. Knowing he is the number-one suspect, Hawk sets out to convince Bracken of his innocence. But Bracken has dealt with people like Hawk before. Is the man telling the truth or using psychology to get away with murder?

A death in the family. A man cut down. When the deceased’s widow witnesses a dark stranger lurking in the neighborhood, the seasoned detective is certain he has the assassin in his sights. But when his hunt for the culprit swerves too close to home, McNeil fears the killings have become personal.

DCI Harry McNeil knows the subzero temperatures can trigger the cruelest of crimes. But when he’s called out in the middle of a blizzard, he’s horrified at the sight of a frozen female corpse found hidden inside a snowman.

Scotland DCI Harry McNeil feels uneasy about visiting his late father’s dementia-afflicted former colleague. But he’s stunned when the retired policeman’s daughter pulls him aside in the nursing home to offer nervous accusations and shocking photographs. And with the images displaying a murder victim from 20 years ago, McNeil fears the senile detective might be the real serial killer long thought dead and buried.

Settling into his new life, Detective Chief Inspector Harry McNeil is being kept busy, but life is going to become a lot busier. The body of an MSP has been found slaughtered in an empty house in Edinburgh. But this is no ordinary crime scene. It’s one that Harry McNeil thinks he’s seen before. Down to the last detail, including the position of the bodies. As they start the hunt, they’re looking for a killer who seems to know far too much detail of what goes on behind the scenes at a kill site. Somebody who doesn’t want to stop.

A woman is found in a local cemetery, crushed to death under a gravestone. A production company is there, filming the remake of a classic sci-fi TV show on the grounds, making the investigation more difficult for DCI Harry McNeil. It's his first day in charge of the cold case unit in Edinburgh. After spending four years in Professional Standards, he has little choice but to take the promotion.

DCI Harry McNeil is finally enjoying life outside of policing. But he’s forced back into all work and no play after a transport van explodes and a pair of convicted criminals disappear into thin air.

When the lifeless body of a psychiatrist is uncovered in the heart of Edinburgh, the responsibility of unraveling this murder falls upon DCI Harry McNeil and his dedicated team. This well-respected professional had maintained a thriving private practice, commanding deep respect within his field.

Ailsa Connolly was a brilliant psychologist and a respected criminologist. She was also a serial killer. Six years ago, DCI Sean Bracken caught her just before he was about to become her seventh victim. Every year on the anniversary of her incarceration, she taunts him with a phone call, giving him one message: "When I get out, I'll kill you." Now, Bracken has transferred back to Edinburgh and is thrown into the deep end on his first day back on duty. There's a killer who is emulating Ailsa, threatening to surpass her body count.

A hearse crashes into an old church and is abandoned. The police find a coffin inside but the body isn't a recent death. It's the badly decomposed body of a girl who went missing 30 years ago. DCI Harry McNeil is sent north to coordinate the hunt for a killer, along with colleagues from Glasgow. The town plays host to the annual Christmas Land festival, and this year marks the 30th anniversary. With the festivities in full swing, it seems that somebody wants to draw attention to the town for a different reason.