New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Severn House 1998 April-June
File Updated: 01/04/00
New Crime & Mystery Fiction Titles From Severn House APRIL-JUNE 1998

Jo Bannister Unlawful Entry Published June 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 72785359 7

'His name was Cristobal Baez ... and Ire was my brother'

The discovery that she had a half-brother in Mexico, and that he died trying to cross the American border as an illegal immigrant, came as a profound shock to Annie Meredith, safe in the Welsh stone house where she was born. Driven more by instinct than reason, she travels to Texas to see Cristobal buried and to find out more about his life - and death.
Immediately she becomes embroiled in border politics, and discovers that people are not the only commodity to make the difficult and dangerous journey. Drugs also pass that way and so too do treasures from Mexico's glorious past, like the elusive and precious Mason Codex ...

'Even the most critical readers will be hooked ...a tour de force ' Kirkus Reviews
'Tautly written and deftly plotted, it is a novel of quality, one that will leave the reader breathless' Publishers Weekly

Paul Garrison Fire and Ice Published April 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7278534·5 7
A kidnap at sea leads to high action drama and suspense

J.M. Gregson Girl Gone Missing Published May 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 72785352 X
Another perplexing case for intrepid duo Lambert and Hook.

Chepstow Castle, Gloucestershire. A woman walking her dog discovers the corpse of a teenager washed up against the banks of the River Wye.
To outward appearances, Alison Watts had seemed perfectly ordinary: a bright and beautiful girl with a stable family life; attendance at the local comprehensive; a steady relationship with a boy in her year at school.
But gradually, as Lambert and Hook delve deeper into the murky depths of the local community, they come up against opposition from unexpected quarters - and discover that Alison Watts was not the innocent teenager the local press have made her out to be.

'A novel in the best traditions of provincial murder' The Observer
'Thoroughly enjoyable' Mail on Sunday

Penny Kline Living in Dread Published May 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7278 5372 4
The latest case for Anna McColl

When psychologist Anna McColl is rendered homeless by a fire, her search for temporary accommodation inadvertently leads to an unsolved murder.
The house, and the annexe she's renting, belongs to Eric Newsom, whose wife Nikki was stabbed through the heart several months ago, her mutilated body discovered by her small son, Charlie.
Spurred on initially by concern for Charlie's well-being, Anna finds herself drawn into the murder investigation. The police still think Eric is their number one suspect, but Anna is convinced that the real answers lie with Charlie.

Penny Kline's previous titles include Deathly Silence, Choice of Evils and Don't Breathe a Word as well as the earlier Anna McColl series titles: Dying to Help, Feeling Bad, Ending in Tears, A Crushing Blow and most recently, Turning Nasty.

Ann Quinton This Mortal Coil Published May 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7278 5355 4

'Exits arranged. Apply: The Coil Shuffler'

When physiotherapist and lay reader Rachel Morland stumbles across one of these cards on the body of a frail parishioner, her suspicions are at once aroused, not least because she has seen it before - when her beloved husband apparently committed suicide.
She takes her fears to policeman Mike Croft, one of her physiotherapy patients, but also a friend and someone Rachel instinctively feels she can trust. He too realises the significance of the Coil Shuffler's calling-card and, together with his former boss, Nick Holroyd, they set out to track down the killer.

'Mystery fans who like procedurals will appreciate' Booklist
'With lively interplay and a roster of suspects typical in their small-minded grievances, Quinton serves up a thoroughly British procedural' Publishers Weekly

Sally Spencer The Salton Killing Published April 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7278 5344 9

New crimes and past evils bring danger to the village of Salton.

When the strangled body of teenager Diane Thorburn is found buried in the village salt store, Chief Inspector Woodend is drafted in from London to investigate. An outspoken Northerner, he does his policing the old-fashioned way: local knowledge and a healthy pinch of intuition. And he is convinced that there is at least one person who knows more than they are letting on.
When his inquiries turn up the death of another young girl a generation before, the similarities in the two cases begin to look more sinister than mere coincidence. Is there a serial killer on the loose, and if so, where and at whom will he strike next?

Sally Spencer was born and brought up in Cheshire, where several of her books are set. She is the bestselling author of Old Father Thames, Up Our Street, Salt of the Earth and, from Severn House, The Silent Land.

Rex Stout Her Forbidden Knight Published June 1998 by Severn House at £16.99 ISBN: 0 7278 5369 4

From the creator of Nero Wolfe

The lobby loungers of New York's Hotel Lamartine are a motley crew, collectively misnamed the 'Erring Knights': Pierre Dumain, a garrulous Frenchman who always seems to have money. Tom Dougherty, a man with secrets to hide. Bub Driscoll, who once floored Tom Dougherty. Billy Sherman, always thirsty and always broke. And newcomer John Knowlton, whose frank blue eyes make more of an impression than Lila, the beautiful hotel telegrapher, is prepared to admit.
But when Lila becomes enmeshed in a counterfeiting gang, the 'erring knight' who comes to her rescue may well be one of the forgers himself.

'Any previously unpublished novel by the creator of the legendary Nero Wolfe will be of interest to fans' Booklist

 Other titles by this classic bestselling author include Target Practice, Champagne for One, The Doorbell Rang and Murder by the Book.