Death of an Ordinary Guy (Derbyshire CID Mystery)

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Hiestand, Jo A.

Mystery

Worldwide

Siren Song (A McLaren Case Mystery, Larger Print) by Jo A. Hiestand (2012-01-01)

Worldwide Mystery Library

Things seem comfortably routine one Ash Wednesday evening in the English village of Hollingthorpe.  The regulars have come together to turn the Devil’s Stone, the age-old custom of shifting a one-ton boulder in the churchyard.  An odd, back-breaking custom that defies logic – except that to dispense with it always brings misfortune on the villagers during that year.  Yet within minutes of shifting the great boulder that evening, misfortune – or someone – does strike.  One of the participants lies beside the stone, very dead and very bloody.  The CID Team from the Derbyshire Constabulary thinks that solving the case will be a snap.  After all, isn’t their boss, Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham, right there and a possible witness, one of the stone turning participants?  But things are never easy.  No one has seen a thing, including Graham,  And those who might have observed the terror aren’t talking.  Is it fear, the particularly vicious attack, or murmured threats that keep everyone mum?  Detective-Sergeant Brenna Taylor and the CID team quickly become embroiled not only in the problems of the villagers but also in a web of deceit. When a red rose is found near the crime scene and WPC MacMillan goes to the wood to investigate, she is attacked, left for dead, beaten in the same manner as the original murder.  Has she discovered something in the wood or close to the rose that identifies the killer?  In the midst of the murder investigation Brenna steals a few precious moments with her new boyfriend and begins to wean her emotions from Graham.  But in a midnight, rain-lashed forest, a heart-wrenching episode with Graham threatens to destroy her resolve.  And through it all the killer silently slips into and out of their lives, thumbing his nose at her and the entire CID team, ready to strike again.

Horns of a Dilemma

Golden Harvest Press

The village square is bathed in torchlight.  Spectators huddle against the cold this November night, Guy Fawkes Night, in Upper Kingsleigh, England.  Shadows encroach at the edge of the square, but faces are turned inward, all eyes focused on the four-hundred-year-old ceremony of the burning of a straw effigy of Guy Fawkes, a symbol of English freedom and national pride.  The flaming torch extends to light the straw -- and the villagers recoil in horror.  Twisting at the end of the rope is no straw-filled dummy.  It’s the corpse of an American tourist. This death ends an uneasy weekend.  Friday saw Mischief Night -- an evening of pranks, much like trick-or-treat but without the treat.  Saturday followed with the Graveyard Dole, the annual occasion for Talbot, the village odd-jobs man, to vociferously protest the current heir’s eligibility to the financial gift.  Unfortunately, Talbot’s rightful claim as lawful beneficiary cannot be proved. As Brenna digs into the convoluted relationships of the villagers, she becomes the target of frightening pranks.  An effigy swings from the ceiling of her bedroom; a dead bird appears in her bathroom sink; photos of her with a noose drawn around her neck materialize on her bed.  Are these the work of one of her harassing male colleagues, or a deadly warning to leave the case?  Not only must Brenna solve this personal mystery while working on the two murders, but she must also sort out her conflicting emotions of trepidation and love for Chief Inspector Graham.

Death of an Ordinary Guy

Dreams woke him that night. Not nightmares. Not exactly. More like flashes from his past. Mingled, as happens through the power of dreams, with foreshadowing of the future. Except he didn’t know that yet... Since his infancy, Michael McLaren has been the target of his paternal grandfather’s anger. So when the patriarch sends an invitation to heal the rift, McLaren travels to Scotland, eager to meet and finally end the feud. But the welcome never happens. In fact, the older man is furious McLaren’s appeared on the family home doorstep, convinced it’s some trick. McLaren, however, is confused -- if the grandfather hadn’t sent for him, who had? And why? In Edinburgh, a man standing beside McLaren in a bus queue is killed in a hit-and-run accident. But McLaren wonders if the driver got the wrong person. And after an attack leaves him for dead on a wintry moor, McLaren’s convinced someone from his past is trying to murder him. As McLaren trails the hit-and-run driver from the medieval ‘underground city’ of Edinburgh to the Boar’s Rock -- the MacLaren Clan’s ancestral meeting place -- the assaults intensify, and he’s plunged into a very personal hunt for a World War II treasure. The puzzle is fascinating; he just has to stay alive to solve it.

Rock Song

Year after year, the villagers near Stanton Moor celebrate May Day with bonfires and the laying of rowan branches to seek protection for home and cattle. But the men who gathered this May evening hadn't come for blessings. They had come for murder. The dead body is discovered on a lonely moor, decapitated in the fashion of a Muslim killing of sacrificial sheep or chickens. Which focuses the suspicion on the Muslim community, since the victim and his family are Pakistanis. Does someone in the village resent these outsiders? Or is their small import shop too much competition for another local business?Detective-Sergeant Brenna Taylor and other members of the Derbyshire Constabulary's Murder Team are called in to investigate, and soon a series of decapitated sheep and rabbits appears on the moor. Is this linked with the man's murder? As fear over a second murder grips the villagers, the Team soon discovers this dead man may have had connections with an organization that smuggles illegal products into Britain. That is bad enough, but the smuggling turns from a mere criminal case to something that hits closer to home for Brenna.In the midst of the tangle of smugglers, murder, and village secrets, Brenna fights to keep focused on the case and nab the one person who may be responsible for the trail of villainy that threatens to engulf everyone&#9135;cop and villager alike&#9135;connected with the moorland murders.

An Old Remedy (Peak District Mysteries)

Independently published

Shadow in the Smoke (The McLaren Mysteries Book 3)

Romance

Romantic Suspense

The Wild Rose Press, Inc. (Crimson Roes)

Death Of An Ordinary Guy

Hillard & Harris

Hilliard & Harris Pub

Things seem comfortably routine one Ash Wednesday evening in the English village of Hollingthorpe. The regulars have come together to turn the Devil's Stone, the age-old custom of shifting a one-ton boulder in the churchyard. An odd, back-breaking custom that defies logic except that to dispense with it always brings misfortune on the villagers during that year. Yet within minutes of shifting the great boulder that evening misfortune or someone does strike. One of the participants lies beside the stone, very dead and very bloody. The CID Team from the Derbyshire Constabulary thinks that solving the case will be a snap. After all, isn't their boss, Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham, right there and a possible witness, one of the stone turning participants? But things are never that easy. No one has seen a thing, including Graham. And those who might have observed the terror aren't talking. Is it fear, the particularly vicious attack, or murmured threats that keep everyone mum? Detective-Sergeant Brenna Taylor and the CID team quickly become embroiled not only in the problems of the villagers but also in a web of deceit. When a red rose is found near the crime scene and WPC MacMillan goes to the wood to investigate, she is attacked, left for dead, beaten in the same manner as the original murder. Has she discovered something in the wood or close to the rose that identifies the killer? In the midst of the murder and missing child investigations Brenna steals a few precious moments with her new boyfriend. Yet, even though their shared time is brief, it hints that they might have a future together, and Brenna begins to wean her emotions from Graham to focus on Adam. But in a midnight, rain-lashed forest, a heart-wrenching episode with Graham threatens to destroy her resolve. And through it all, the killer silently slips into and out of their lives, thumbing his nose at her and the entire CID team, ready to strike again.

Hornung, Paul

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