Showing results by publisher "Zaffre" in All Categories

Susie and Stella have nothing in common, except for the fact that they're married to the same man - private detective Mike Hazard. When Mike suddenly disappears, the women discover his double life. The two women soon find out that Mike is keeping more secrets than just his infidelity and his actions soon put them in danger with both sides of the law. They must now track down a missing husband while finding a way to stay alive...

A family under constant scrutiny from both the police and the press as a fifteen-year-old goes missing after a sleepover with a friend; a marriage at breaking point; a father who has seemingly lied about his alibi; and a detective feeling the pressure to deliver an arrest, are thrust together to make for yet another incredibly intricate and dark thriller from Lynda La Plante.

The husband of a prominent and infamously ruthless barrister is found in horrific condition after a robbery and brutal assault. Now in a coma, a major investigation is launched using the newly formed, experimental Metropolitan Police Serious Crime Analysis Unit. Lynne Russell is an experienced CSI with degrees in psychology and criminology with an exceptional Masters in Investigative psychology and behaviour analysis. But Lynne's first job as team leader of MSCAN is entirely new to her: to bring together a team of three trusted officers.

Warwickshire, 1875 Emerald Pritchard has lived a privileged life with her parents and her younger sister, Abigail, in the stately Astley House on the outskirts of Nuneaton. But all that suddenly changes when her father disappears leaving the family in debt. They are forced to throw themselves on the mercy of Emerald's uncle who begrudgingly allows them to live in a small cottage within the grounds of his farm.

1875. With their father missing and their mother suddenly passing, Esme and Gabriel are forced to track down their estranged grandfather in Lincolnshire. Cold and unwelcoming, he is reluctant to take them in, but aware of his standing as the village vicar, he knows must protect his reputation, and allow the children to stay with him. Esme's relief at finding refuge soon turns to despair when Gabriel is sent to boarding school, leaving her alone in their grandfather's unhappy home. But the house isn't as empty as it first appeared.

A young woman turns up at a police station. She has been kept prisoner in her own home. Abused and tortured, her every move watched, her every thought controlled. Now she's finally escaped. That's what she says. But when the police arrive at the address she's given them, her story doesn't seem to add up. Her husband is missing, but his phone and wallet are still in the house. She says she's the victim, but what if she's not? What if the stories she's telling aren't her stories at all....

Barfield Prison is one of the toughest high-security prisons in England, housing the country's most dangerous criminals. And when an inmate is found dead in his cell, a riot breaks out, forcing the authorities to investigate a potential murder. Despite being Barfield's youngest ever female Governor, Helen Hewitt is seen as the best woman for the job. But with a prison full of corrupt and suspicious officers, restless inmates and a broken system, Helen has her work cut out - and no allies to help her....

When an ex-police officer from the murder squad is found shot dead in a dank squat, Detective Anna Travis is pulled into the case he was working on—the hunt for Alexander Fitzpatrick, a drug-trafficker with a vast fortune, and one of the most wanted men in the Western world. But there have been no sightings of Fitzpatrick for over a decade. As the body count rises, and with no sign of Fitzpatrick, the investigation takes a horrifying turn. Anna and her team learn that Fitzpatrick, wherever he is, may have access to one of the most lethal drugs in existence.

As the much doted-on daughter of the local doctor Violet Stroud had a comfortable, happy childhood - despite a distinct lack of love from her cold-hearted mother. But when her father unexpectedly dies, Violet's life is turned upside down. As secrets about the family come to light, Violet finds herself homeless and with no one to turn to apart from Edie, the family's gentle and loving housekeeper.

Lieutenant Lorraine Page once had everything - a devoted husband, two beautiful daughters and an impressive career with the Homicide Squad. It's impossible to believe that she could be thrown out of the police force and end up on Skid Row. Without Lorraine, her colleagues struggle on, as the hunt for a nightmare serial killer spirals into an all-out search for a missing witness: a victim who escaped. But Lorraine Page is about to be brought right back into that world again....

Things can't get much worse for Detective Jane Tennison. Unceremoniously kicked off the adrenaline-fuelled Flying Squad, she now plies her trade in Gerald Road, a small and sleepy police station in the heart of London's affluent Knightsbridge. With only petty crime to sink her teeth into, Tennison can feel her career slowly flatlining. That is until the discovery of the most brutal murder Jane has ever seen: Charlie Foxley has been found viciously beaten to death with a cricket bat - his body dismembered and disembowelled.

All is not well at Castle's Café. Since the fatal shooting, customers have been staying away, and now Nellie finds herself in debt to the sinister Terence Carter. But when a deadly attack strikes close to home, these troubles pale into insignificance. Meanwhile, Jimmy Castle's relationship with family friend Reenie Turner has deepened, and in the aftermath of the attack that could so easily have killed them, they decide to get married. But the return of an old friend threatens to expose a long-held secret, leaving the wedding teetering on the brink of disaster.

When little orphan Annie finds herself liberated from the workhouse and taken to a smart home on Swan Lane, she thinks her fortunes might finally be turning around. While grateful to the Lilburn family, she soon realises they have problems of their own. Grieving the loss of their young daughter a number of years earlier, Maggie Lilburn adopted two children from the workhouse: a newborn baby, who she thought would be the answer to her family's woes, and Annie.

Germany, late summer 1945. The war is over, but the country is in ruins. Millions of refugees and holocaust survivors strive to rebuild their lives in displaced persons camps. Millions of German soldiers and SS men are held captive in primitive conditions in open-air detention centres. Everywhere, civilians are desperate for food and shelter. No one admits to having voted Nazi, yet many are unrepentant. Adolf Hitler is said to have killed himself in his Berlin bunker. But no body was found - and many people believe he is alive.

The Empire is not just a theatre. From music hall to vaudeville, from revue to grand musical spectacular, it holds a special place in the nation's heart. For its audience, for its actors and singers, for the stagehands, the front-of-house staff, for its backers and its debtors—and above all for its owners—it truly is a palace of dreams. And for young Jack Treadwell, struggling to adapt to civilian life after the horrors of the trenches, it's a lifeline. When he receives a letter out of the blue inviting him to work at The Empire, he leaps at the chance.

1926. Running a theatre may appear to be all about the showbiz, but times are hard at The Empire. Following a turbulent period Jack Treadwell, erstwhile proprietor, his mother Lillian, and his playwright wife Grace, know they need to get things back on track - and how better than with the annual pantomime, a new venture, and an all-singing all-dancing talent contest, showcasing the best performers around.

When her boss, James Langton, is almost fatally injured while pursuing a ruthless gang, Detective Anna Travis must put her own career on hold as she nurses him through his intense frustration and desperation to bring his would-be murderer to justice. Then Anna is assigned to a different case, the vicious murder of a quiet, studious woman whose body was found by her daughter—an attack with no obvious motive or immediate suspect. Until the case becomes unexpectedly linked with that of her boss, and Anna finds herself under threat from those who almost destroyed his career and his life.

Dover 1940 As firebombs fall on Dover, Edie Castle's life is thrown into turmoil when the garage where she lives and works is damaged and her beloved boss is arrested. With no job and nowhere else to go, Edie returns to Castle's Café and her formidable mother, Nellie. Living with her mother is never easy, but tensions reach boiling point when an old friend of Nellie's arrives looking for a place to stay. Meanwhile, desperate to clear her boss's name, Edie turns to his nephew for help.

Identical and brutal assaults on three women. One woman survives to give a detailed description of her attacker. The police arrest a suspect, Damon Morton, confident he is their man. But three of his employees admit to the crimes, and Morton's wife and girlfriend provide him with an alibi. They all declare Damon Morton innocent. The police know he did it. But if people lie under oath in a court of law ­- who can the jury believe?

Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby has returned to the main island, Heimö, after many years in London and has worked hard to become one of the few female police officers in Doggerland. So, when she wakes up in a hotel room next to her boss, Jounas Smeed, she knows she's made a big mistake. But things are about to get worse: later that day, Jounas's ex-wife is found brutally murdered. And Karen is the only one who can give him an alibi.