GREAT CRIME FICTION FOR 2008 FROM THE WINNER OF SEARCH 2007, OUR SECOND WORLDWIDE TALENT HUNT FOR BRILLIANT NEW CRIME WRITERS: Dead Woman’s Shoes - Kaye C Hill All she wanted was to get away… And suddenly it’s raining cats, dogs and bodies… Lexy Lomax has run away from her obnoxious husband, taking with her a cool half million of his ill-gotten gains and a homicidal chihuahua called Kinky. Holed up in a decrepit log cabin on the Suffolk coast, Lexy finds herself mistaken for the previous owner of the cabin, a private investigator, now deceased. Before she knows it she's embroiled in a cocktail of marital infidelity (possibly), missing cats (probably) and poison pen letters (definitely). Oh, yes - and a murder or two... Published April 2008 ISBN: 9780955158995 Paperback original Extent 288

NEW TITLES FROM OUR MOST POPULAR AUTHORS:

The Unquiet Heart - Gordon Ferris Lovers by night, gang-busters by day Danny McRae, private detective scraping a living in ration-card London. Eve Copeland, crime reporter, looking for new angles to save her career. It’s an alliance made in heaven. Until Eve disappears, a contact dies violently and an old adversary presents Danny with some unpalatable truths. His desperate search for his lover draws him into a web of hurls him into a web of black marketeers, double agents and assassins, and hurls him into the shattered remains of Berlin, where terrorism and espionage foreshadow the bleakness of the Cold War. And Danny begins to lose sight of the thin line between good and evil… Follow-up to Gordon’s gritty post-war thriller Truth Dare KILL. Published May 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9557078-0-3 Paperback original Extent 288

No Kiss for the Devil - Adrian Magson Gavin and Palmer are back - and this time it’s personal A young woman’s body is found dumped in the Essex countryside. Investigative reporter Riley Gavin recognises her as Helen Bellamy, a former girlfriend of her colleague, PI Frank Palmer. Ex-military policeman Palmer is accustomed to death, but this is different; this is the brutal murder of someone he was once close to. He knows only one way to deal with it: find the killers. Meanwhile, Riley’s next job is a profile of controversial businessman ‘Kim’ Al-Bashir. She soon realises that there are sinister forces working against him, and if she doesn’t tread carefully she could end up losing her assignment. And, like Helen, quite probably her life. Latest in this popular series from our bestselling author. Published June 2008 ISBN: 978-09557078-1-0 Paperback original Extent 288

Chords and Discords - Roz Southey Music may be the food of love… But it doesn’t fill an empty belly Winter is not a good time for jobbing musicians in early 18th century Newcastle. The town has emptied for the season, and Charles Patterson, harpsichordist, concert arranger and tutor to the gentry, is down to his last few shillings. But Patterson has another talent: solving mysteries. When an unpopular organ builder thinks his life is in danger and a shop-boy dies in dubious circumstances, the offer of a substantial fee persuades him to seek answers to some difficult questions. Like, who stole the dancing-master’s clothes? Why is a valuable organ up for raffle? And will Patterson escape whoever is trying to kill him? Published July 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9557078-2-7 Paperback original Extent 288

Bad Press - Maureen Carter Is the reporter breaking the news… Or making it? A killer’s targeting Birmingham's paedophiles: a big story, and ace crime reporter Matt Snow’s always there first - ahead of the pack and the police. Detective Sergeant Bev Morriss has crossed words with Snow countless times. Though his hang-’em-and-flog-’em views are notorious, Bev still sees him as journo, not psycho. But a case against the newsman builds. Maybe Snow’s sword is mightier than his pen? Through it all, Bev has an exclusive of her own… a news item she’d rather didn’t get round the nick. DS Byford knows, but the guv’s on sick leave. As for sharing it with new partner DC Mac Tyler - no, probably best keep mum… Fourth in Carter’s acclaimed gritty, witty police procedural series Published August 2008 ISBN: 978-09557078-3-4 Paperback original Extent 288

About the authors:

Kaye C Hill A twenty-year career involving railway embankments, steel-capped boots and chainsaws inspired Kaye C Hill to turn to crime fiction. “I trained in woodland management, and my first job was managing trees on the railway embankments. I was one of a very few women working in a male-dominated environment, and this experience gave me the inspiration for an independent-minded private investigator with an intriguing past – but don’t ask me where the homicidal chihuahua came from!” Kaye’s sparky sleuth Lexy Lomax lives on the Suffolk coast where, when not writing, Kaye herself spends as much time as possible bird-watching on the exposed estuaries and wetlands. “It’s a great hobby for someone who can’t stand the cold.” For more information visit www.kayechill.com

Roz Southey Roz Southey has a passion for the often contentious world of 18th century music-making in the north-east of England; in fact, she has a PhD in it! “While I was researching I discovered lots of stories which I couldn’t use in my thesis, but were fascinating all the same,” she recalls. “One involved a musical duel - and became the spark for Broken Harmony.” Roz lectures at the International Centre for Music Studies in Newcastle upon Tyne, and admits to playing the piano and the viola, but not very well. For more information visit www.rozsouthey.co.uk

Gordon Ferris Gordon Ferris is a dropout from the Civil Service and accountancy, and used to while away the hours on long-haul flights writing about troubled heroes and dissolute women. When his fictional world became more real than international banking, he handed in his pinstripes and grew a writer’s beard. These days he flits between London and Switzerland - and when the snow is thick and the skies are blue he swaps his keyboard for a skiboard. Visit Gordon's website at www.gordonferris.com

Mary Andrea Clarke By day Mary Andrea Clarke holds down a responsible position in the Civil Service - but by night she is a Mystery Woman! Her love of crime fiction led her to join the vibrant group of readers and writers (not all female!) who organise events and meetings all over the UK. The Crimson Cavalier grew out of a desire to explore the challenges faced by an intelligent, independent woman in an era before equality of opportunity between the sexes became the norm.

Linda Regan You’d think a successful acting career would fulfil her dreams, but Linda Regan’s ambition has always been to become a bestselling crime writer. “My family is theatrical, and I’ve been in the business since I was a child,” she says. “But my head is full of crime novels, and I’d love to have more time to spend writing them.” Her thespian life has encompassed Carry On movies, radio and TV drama, audiobooks and all kinds of theatre from weekly rep to the Royal Shakespeare Company - so she is well equipped to bring the unique ambience of small-town pantomime to vivid life in her first published murder mystery. For more information visit www.lindareganonline.co.uk

Adrian Magson Having spent a number of years in sales, promoting books for a large publishing house, Adrian Magson was bitten by the bug and became a full-time writer. Adrian’s work has been published in many mainstream UK magazines, and as far afield as the US, Japan, South Africa, Australia and Scandinavia. His short stories have been broadcast on BBC Radio, and he has written for the comedian Roy Hudd and had a comedy play performed at the Oxford Literary Festival. "I enjoy writing in a variety of genres," says Adrian, "but I've always preferred crime writing, and the edgy characters that often spring out of nowhere as the plot develops." His crime writing has been shortlisted in the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award, and appeared in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Maxim Jakubowski's Best British Mysteries. He also writes the regular Beginners column in Writing Magazine, sister publication to Writers' News. For more information visit www.adrianmagson.com

Maureen Carter Former BBC Newsnight presenter Maureen Carter has worked extensively in newspapers, radio and television, and still freelances in the business. As a journalist she has worked closely with the police, covering countless crime stories, including several murders. She has also interviewed victims and seen villains sent down. Maureen’s inspiration frequently comes from incidents she experienced as a crime reporter. "Some images remain as moving and potent as on the day I first saw them," she says. "The trick is to use them to produce an engaging and entertaining crime novel." For more information visit www.maureencarter.co.uk

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