New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Constable 1998 July-Sept

File Updated: 01/04/00

New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Constable JULY-SEPT 1998

Janie Bolitho Exposure of Evil Published July 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 094 78860 X Artwork by: Jacket photo: Joe Partridge. Design: Bob Eames
Cheerful, handsome police officer Jeff Grant has it all - until his wife is shot dead. Within hours the killer is arrested, the gun in his possession. But, as Detective Chief Inspector Roper questions the suspect, who is too drunk to remember, Jasmine Grant's past unfolds, raising unexpected doubts. Simultaneously Roper's team investigates a series of violent attacks on people who are unable or unwilling to describe their assailants. Can Roper and his embattled colleagues solve these seemingly purposeless crimes.

Tim Goodwin Seeds of Destruction Published August 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 094 78900 2 Artwork by: Jacket illustration:Joe Partridge. Design: Bob Eames
See Review by John Boyles
This dramatic and gripping crime novel is written by an impressive new author and set against a spectacular Greenland background.
Sergeant Tomas Larsen is sent from Denmark to a small town in Greenland to stand in for one of the two local policemen. His first job is to investigate the brutal murder of a young man, and the prime suspect is the dead man's wife.
The town is poor and precarious, the population insular, frustrated and frequently drunk, and murder is not as rare a crime as it might be elsewhere. But Larsen suspects that there is more to this murder than the town's usual crimes of passion - husbands killing lovers, men struck down in the heat of an argument.
Someone has perpetrated a serious fraud at the local seed bank and some rare and priceless seeds have disappeared. And someone is very determined to put a stop to Larsen's investigation, so determined that they are prepared to hunt him like an animal as he tries to escape across the vast and silent ice fields...

A sympathetic and unusual central character, a gripping plot and a wonderfully atmospheric setting make this an exciting debut for Tim Goodwin, the first in a projected series featuring Tomas Larsen.

Judith Jones Baby Talk Published September 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0094791309

Kerry Lake, fast-track police detective, thinks she knows who callously murdered a young boy. But her suspect is a powerful businessman involved in charity work, and she is struggling to make a case against him. Kerry's only ally is another child, Christopher Mallard, a friend of the dead boy. Secretly, Chris brings Kerry fragments of information, but to do so puts him in appalling danger. Kerry is faced with an impossible dilemma: to go on risking Chris's safety and her own life for the sake of justice, or to let a murderer walk free.

Gwen Moffat The Lost Girls Published August 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 094 78930 4 Artwork by: Cover illustration: Joe Partridge. Cover design: Bob Eames
When the building of a new dam engulfed the Lake District village of Orrdale many were glad. They hoped the reservoir would cover the remains of little Jeannie Gardner wherever they were. One long dry summer homeless teenager Ferry discovers a human bone and painful memories of Jeannie Gardner's disappearance re-emerge. Knowing the locals involved, Miss Pink is curious. But when Ferry disappears, she begins to fear that a murderer who's got away with it for fifty years may have struck again.

Andrew Puckett Shadow Behind a Screen Published July 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 094 78850 2 Artwork by: Cover photo: Joe partridge. Cover design: Bob Eames
In the cauldron of emotions that is Regis Microbiology Lab there are plenty of people with good reasons to dislike clever, amoral scientist Harry Benedict. When his baby son is admitted to hospital and inexplicably fails to respond to treatment, Harry wonders it someone has tampered with the hospital computer which relays the lab results. Harry reacts violently, and Department of Health Inspector Tom Jones is called in to investigate. What he uncovers affects us all - how secure are the computers to which we entrust so much of our affairs?

'Pacy, well written, and a chillingly believable premise.' Marcel Berlins - The Times (on Bloodhound)

Andrew Puckett has worked in various hospitals in Taunton, London and Oxford, and in the latter city was for many years Microbiologist at the Blood Transfusion Centre. He draws on these experiences for his hospital-based crime novels. He is now back in Taunton where his lives with his wife and two daughters.

Nicholas Rhea Superstitious Death Published July 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 09 478620 8 Artwork by: Jacket illustration: Terry Pastor. Design: Bob Eames
See Review by John Boyles

When Mrs Cholmondeley's bay tree withers and dies for no apparent reason, the highly superstitious Detective Inspector Montague Pluke knows that a death is imminent.
The subsequent discovery of a shallow grave containing the body of an unknown young woman confirms his belief and the mirror in the grave tells him that this is not a routine investigation.
But Pluke's problems increase when the Security Services tell him to end his enquiries as secrets in the life of a local philanthropist begin to emerge ...

Nicholas Rhea (Peter N. Walker) served for thirty years in the North Yorkshire Police and retired in 1982 to concentrate on his writing He has published more than ninety books, including the 'Constable' series from which the highly popular ITV series 'Heartbeat' has been derived. He has also written several 'Emmerdale' books based on the successful Yorkshire Television production, as well as crime novels, collections of folk stories and non-fiction books about Yorkshire.

Stella Shepherd Twilight Curtain Published August 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 094 78910 X Artwork by: Jacket photograph: Joe Partridge. Design: Bob Eames

Journalist Rowena Kemp uncovers sinister goings-on in Cornwall's new age community as she tries to track down her missing cousin Ellie. Ellie's last known address was the Cornish home of famous medium Caireen Malone, whose memoirs she had been hired to transcribe. When Ellie vanishes along with her traveller boyfriend and a local farmer's valuable heirlooms, Rowena feels compelled to investigate ...
Stella Shepherd has created an appealing new heroine and A Twilight Curtain is a thoughtful and gripping look into the world of spiritualism and new age therapy.

Stella Shepherd was horn in 1953 in Oldham, Lancashire. She studied medicine at the University of Nottingham and has subsequently worked as a hospital doctor, concentrating mainly on radiotherapy. Now a full-time writer, she lives in Somerset with her husband.

Barbara Whitehead Dolls Don't Choose Published August 1998 by Constable at Ł16.99 ISBN: 0 094 78660 7 Artwork by: Jacket illustration: Terry Pastor. Design: Bobb Eames
To DCI Bob Southwell's chagrin, his least favourite rival, DS Hallam, arrives as his new boss.
York is held in the grip of panic by a wave of attacks on women and Bob begins to have the crazy idea that DS Hallam may be responsible - or is it so crazy? Meanwhile, beautiful blonde student Angela has become involved in the university women's group, but is she putting herself in a position of danger?