A shy, academic teenager, Luke spent the long, hot summer of 1976 working on an isolated bird reserve in Norfolk, England. Like most young men of his age, he found his thoughts preoccupied with the opposite sex and, gradually, peculiar events unfolded around him that seemed designed to take advantage of this Achilles heel. 36 years later, the discovery of human remains at a coastal archaeological site sheds shocking new light upon his experiences of 1976, compelling him to reappraise his memories and, finally, to return to East Anglia in an attempt to unravel the truth of a tale of...

When a long-serving master at one of England's leading public schools is found drowned in Bassenthwaite Lake, Detective Inspector Skelgill is called in to investigate his apparent suicide. It soon becomes clear that senior members of staff are not all that they seem, and - while the school closes ranks - that Skelgill is scratching at the surface of a secretive power struggle for control of its highly lucrative operation. A second violent suicide promises to throw the police off the scent, and the sudden mysterious disappearance of a VIP pupil threatens to cause panic in their ranks. In a...

WHEN A HIGH-FLYING adman is brutally murdered on a company weekend in the English Lake District, Detective Inspector Daniel Skelgill finds himself wrenched from his rural Cumbrian comfort zone. As the investigation unfolds, DI Skelgill is led a merry dance between London and Edinburgh, at every turn confronted by uncooperative suspects - colleagues, wife and lovers of the deceased - each of whom is possessed of motive and opportunity. Is this a crime of passion, a professional hit, or a cleverly calculated killing borne out of greed and jealousy? In this traditional whodunit, the case can...

A SPATE OF VICIOUS ATTACKS upon valuable Herdwick sheep, the sudden disappearance of a foreign hiker, and the unexplained drowning of a woodland hermit - a series of apparently unconnected events - draw Detective Inspector Daniel Skelgill to the white-knuckle passes and isolated dales of deepest Lakeland. As straws in the wind begin to suggest there is sorcery afoot - and perhaps some connection to an equally sinister trade in human traffic - Skelgill and his team risk dire consequences as they strive to fathom the mystery, infiltrate the secretive ring and expose its evil perpetrators. In...

WHEN DI SKELGILL IS CALLED to an isolated maximum-security hospital, he catches the eye of a notorious female serial killer. Is this the trigger that turns a routine investigation into a rollercoaster of murder, mayhem, escapes and hostage taking? Are these events purely coincidental, or is some conspiracy afoot? And if so, is it blackmail, corruption, a power struggle... or something altogether more sinister? In this, the sixth stand-alone Inspector Skelgill mystery, while search teams comb the moorland for clues, the maverick Cumbrian detective finds his mental sinews stretched to the limit...

ONE WEEK AFTER THE DEATH of his 93-year-old twin brother, the reclusive Declan Thomas O'More is found murdered in his study at the ancestral family estate, rambling and isolated Crummock Hall. Suspicion immediately falls upon his five great nieces and nephews, who between them stand to inherit the considerable proceeds of their grandfather's will - along with a valuable library of antiquarian books, a collection that is Declan's lifetime work. And yet each member of this generation - which includes a famous actor and a successful author - is apparently wealthy in their own right. Why would...

WHEN A DOG WALKER discovers a decaying corpse in Harterhow Woods it is surely just a matter of time before the police will close in upon the murderer. But despite a nationwide appeal the distinctive remains defy identification. Skelgill believes he knows the perpetrator - but his team have other ideas. As they unearth contradictory clues Skelgill becomes impatient - an arrest is made. But when the victim is finally named a new prime suspect emerges. Skelgill is determined to prevail - but the facts don't fit his gut feel. And yet, as they search for a vital witness it dawns on him that there...