Showing results for "Helen H Durrant" in Crime Fiction

Callum is lured to an isolated boathouse by an attractive older woman. When she gets him alone, she knocks him out with a single blow. Surrounded by hills and lakes, Still Waters is home to a close-knit community of wealthy retirees. It's an unlikely setting for violence. The police don't take Callum's disappearance seriously: he's 24-years-old, after all. But Callum's mother, a Still Waters resident, knows that something is very wrong. Then a body is discovered floating in the lake. Head bashed in. But it's not Callum. And someone tweets: Come out to play one last time, Alice.

Twenty-five years ago, a schoolgirl was attacked. Ambushed by three bullies at her home where she lived alone with her granny. Now, the mother of one of those bullies is found murdered on the Hobfield housing estate. Written on the wall in the victim’s blood is the word “sorry”. Detective Tom Calladine and his partner DS Ruth Bayliss discover a link to some bones found at an old house up in the hills. It was the home of the teenage girl who was attacked. The detectives have more than this puzzling case on their hands.

A woman is found dead by a canal. Her eyes have been poked out. Detective Stephen Greco has just started his job at Oldston CID and is faced with several murders with no obvious connection except for the murderer's penchant for disfigurement. His team are crumbling under the pressure; he doesn't know whom he can trust. Can Greco regain composure and control in order to stop the murders?

A sweltering summer day on the Hobfield housing estate. New tenant Lisa Woodley is horrified when her cat comes home with a human foot in its mouth. The foot belongs to 16-year-old Noah Crosby, whose decomposing remains are found in a rubbish-strewn alleyway. It’s not a robbery, as the teen has an expensive gold watch, high-end trainers and a top-of-the-range mobile phone on him. Where did he get such expensive gear? A letter X is carved into Noah’s flesh. Twenty years ago this was the hallmark of a serial killer who was never caught.

The body of a blonde young man found in the canal is discovered to be that of a journalist who had been claiming he was onto the story of a lifetime. The area where he was murdered turns out to be subject to a land dispute. A young woman is adamant she remembers a childhood twin brother, but her father swears she’s an only child. And now a second young blonde is missing. Rachel King and her East Manchester CID team must determine what links this all together - or are they being led to draw connections which aren’t there? And if so, who is pulling their strings?

Chloe Todd believes her baby daughter is sleeping peacefully in her pram in the back garden. She lifts away the blanket to check on her – and gasps in shock. Chloe's neighbor calls the police. But all is not as it seems . . . Chloe Todd is in a loveless marriage. Her husband a villain who works for a man called Dean Rawlins. Rawlins has been missing for a year. Det Superintendent Hedley Sharp arrested Rawlins just before he went missing. Something he's had to live with. Hedley is suspicious but his inspector is on Chloe's side – a bone of contention throughout the investigation.

A murdered woman found on a building site. Executed by a single gun shot. But worse is to come. Another body is found buried in the same place. Detective Rachel King has two victims to deal with. The first woman was local nurse, Agnes Moore. One of the victim’s friends makes contact but then disappears. Does Rachel have a serial killer on her hands? And what was Agnes really helping local girls with? Will Rachel’s former lover, well-known villain Jed McAteer, come back to haunt her with his connections to the victims? Who will pay the ultimate price next?

A little girl, presumed dead, turns up playing happily in the park. She is barefoot but otherwise unharmed. The child’s mother who lives on a notorious local estate doesn’t seem bothered that her daughter has returned alive. Meanwhile, a man is tortured by a ruthless criminal. The victim’s severed hand is left on his wife’s doorstep.

A man is found dead in his bed, suffocated, covered in confetti and with his ring finger missing. Detective Rachel King informs his daughter and takes her to identify the body. But she's never seen the man before in her life. What if you don't even know who the killer really wanted to murder? Then a second murder. This time a woman, Alison, also suffocated and with her finger severed and confetti strewn over her body. The team desperately search for a link before anyone else dies. Meanwhile, someone has been running a property scam, selling dream houses that will never be built.

A teenage boy is found murdered in a local park, stabbed to death and set alight to destroy the evidence. Detectives Harry Lennox and Jess Wilde soon learn his identity and find his bedroom wall decorated with photographs of the victims of unsolved murders. There are images of three people who appear to be the next victims. One of them is the faceless man, a blank cut-out with no features. Jess and Harry must find the killer before the next target dies, and Harry is guarding a secret that could destroy everything he’s built.

Ronald Potter is found dead on the kitchen floor of a house he was about to show a client around. Ronald led a blameless life, and Detective Matt Brindle and the team cannot find any motive for his murder. But an intensive search of the property leads to a very disturbing discovery in the cellar. Meanwhile, a young mother is being held captive by someone who will stop at nothing to get the information they want. DI Matt Brindle discovers connections to organised crime and a sleazy nightclub. Can he expose the villains before any more people die?

A man is shot dead, and his body is dumped on the moors. His arm is stamped with the Chinese symbol for 'sorry'. There have been five unsolved murders with the same hallmark. The police can’t find any motive or connection between the victims. Bella Richards was close to the murdered man. She lives with her five-year-old son and has begun a new life in the local area. But although clearly grief-stricken, she is not telling the police everything she knows.

Detectives Harry Lennox and Jess Wilde have never seen anything like it. The dead woman is dressed up like a Victorian doll. She’s wearing a long white dress, a bloodstained blonde wig and a mask with red cupid-bow lips. Beneath the mask, her face is beaten so badly, it’s unrecognisable. DNA identifies the victim as Lori Lansing, who was kidnapped three weeks ago. Her wealthy husband paid half a million pounds to secure her release – but he never saw his wife again. Then another young woman is reported missing.

When the decomposed remains of a body are found entombed in the depths of a disused Manchester cotton mill, Detective Chief Inspector Rachel King is called in to investigate the grisly discovery. With gunshot wounds to the knees, this was no accident. This was murder. But the question is: was this a gangland killing or a murder motivated by a deadly secret closer to home? With the help of DS Elwyn Price, Rachel must follow the trail evidence where it takes her. But who can she trust? And who in this notorious area knows more than they’re admitting to?

A two-month-old baby is missing. James’s parents left him with a babysitter while they went out for dinner. But when they get home, there’s no sign of baby or sitter. This is the last thing DCI Rachel King wants to hear on her last night of maternity leave. But worse is to come. The missing infant belongs to Scott Agnew, alleged member of Manchester drug-dealing ring, the Trio. Then the elderly mother of another Trio boss disappears. Rachel knows that if these are retaliation kidnappings, things will only go from bad to terrible. And guess who everyone thinks is behind all of this?

After three months off, a gruesome murder throws Detective Rachel King back into the thick of it. But can she cope? The body of an elderly woman is carefully posed on the altar. The victim is identified as Mary Dunn, whose turn it was to arrange the church flowers. Everyone loved Mary. Who would want to kill her? Then forensic evidence produces a shocking result: a link to the Slasher, a serial killer who stalked the streets of Manchester fifteen years before. But the Slasher was murdered in prison. Does Detective Rachel King have a serial killer on her patch? One who’s back from the dead.

Detectives Calladine and Bayliss hunt for a missing child in a mystery with a shocking ending. Sophie Alder is the three-year-old daughter of local factory owner, Richard Alder. Richard and his wife Annie are locals from the rough housing estate who’ve made it big. Plus, there’s a crime wave in Leesworth and the police can’t cope. One thief even dares to break into Calladine’s house. A number of local men have formed a vigilante group. On one of their patrols they catch the burglar and he ends up dead....

A woman is murdered in an empty house. Within 24 hours there is another horrific murder using the same method. The detectives soon deduce that the victims are random, but the locations are not. The killer looks for the right house - somewhere he won't be disturbed. When a man confesses, it looks like the case is closed, but Detective Stephen Greco is unconvinced. Can he keep control when things get personal?

Detectives Calladine and Bayliss hunt for a vicious killer. The first victim is found on waste ground. His tongue has been cut out and stuffed down his throat. Then another body is found dumped in a lake up in the hills. The same gruesome murder method is used. And guess who the detectives’ new boss is? The incredibly difficult Stephen Greco. A twisted killer...and a wicked twist.