File Updated: 01/04/00

New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Hale APRIL-JUNE 1998
Richard Grayson Death in the Skies Published May 1998 by Hale at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7090 6214 1
Against the heady backdrop of la belie époque in Paris, once again Inspector Gautier is involved with murder in high society.
When the valet of a German baron visiting Paris to compete in an international balloon race is stabbed to death, the murder is not allowed to interfere with the glittering social life of the period. Inspector Gautier has scarcely begun to investigate the crime when he is instructed by the Prefect of Police to make secret enquiries into a possible case of espionage involving the Minister for War. The Minister, Gautier learns, has been wildly indiscreet - entertaining a number of society ladies in his garconiere as well as a seductive Turkish belly dancer.
More murders follow before he brings his investigations to a denouement during a spectacular historical pageant held in the Champs de Mars under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
Richard Grayson took a specialist interest when reading history at Cambridge, in that most colourful period of French history, la belle époque. All his Inspector Gautier novels are set in that period. He lives in London.

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Michael McGarrity Mexican Hat Published April 1998 by Hale at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7090 6178 1
'One of the seven best mysteries of 1996. Few mysteries are as fresh and powerful as this rich south-western tale .., delivers action, atmosphere, romance, and prime satisfaction.'
Publishers Weekly on Tularosa
The hero of Tularosa returns in a compelling mystery of family secrets played out against the breathtaking Gila Wilderness of south-western Mexico.
Kevin Kerney, ex-Santa Fe chief of detectives, is working as a seasonal forest ranger and saving his pay to go towards a small ranch. But the poaching of wildlife, the murder of a Mexican tourist, and the discovery of a disoriented old man in the wilderness thrust Kerney into an investigation that accelerates dangerously to a heart-stopping final confrontation. As Kerney puts the puzzle together a piece at a time, someone - the poacher, the murderer, or the local militia - keeps trying to kill him. Michael McGarrity, an ex-psychotherapist and Santa Fe Sheriff's Department detective, introduced Kevin Kerney in his first novel, Tularosa, also published by Hale. He now lives in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

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Nicholas Rhea Constable Over the Stile Published June 1998 by Hale at £12.99 ISBN: 0 7090 6071 8
The Constable series inspired the hugely successful TV series Heartbeat.
There is a hint of unexpected wealth for Claude Jeremiah Greengrass when he finds a cache of silver coins and worries for Nick when a lad loses his doting granddad's silver whistle. When Claude Jeremiah's dog, Alfred, gets bitten by an adder, Britain's most loveable rogue rings the local search and rescue team - and gets Sergeant Blaketon instead. But when a Girl Guide tumbles down a waterfall, Nick has to organize a speedy rescue attempt …
There is a serious crime too. A convicted murderer comes to live in Aidensfield, but Nick and Sergeant Blaketon have a major problem when they hear that an escaped Great Train Robber is hiding on Nick's patch.
Nicholas Rhea is the pen-name for Peter N. Walker formerly an inspector with the Yorkshire Police and now the creator of the Constable series and author of Portrait of the North York Moors. As Peter N. Walker, he is the author of Murders and Mysteries from the North York Moors, Murders and Mysteries from the Yorkshire Dales, Folk Tales from the North York Moors, Folk Stories from the Yorkshire Dales, Folk Tales from York and the Welds and Folk Stories from the Lake District. Married with four adult children and three grandchildren, he lives in North Yorkshire.

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