Only the dead know the truth…

Leaving a career in nursing after the tragic loss of her husband and child, Claire Holloway returns to her Yorkshire roots at Darkwater Abbey, to claim her shared inheritance of the family business. Welcomed warmly by her uncle and reluctantly by her cousins, Vivienne and Nanette, Claire is astonished to discover Nanette’s husband, Ivan, is the son of a man murdered by Claire’s father twenty years earlier—a crime for which he was hung.

Examining her dead mother’s journals after arriving at Darkwater Abbey, the alarming contents raise doubts of her father’s guilt. Was he framed for a murder he did not commit? If so, why? And by whom? Confounded, Claire reluctantly accepts the unexpected alliance of Ivan, and they become embroiled in their search to unearth the truth of the past.

But Claire’s presence is a catalyst for disturbing events. Revealing deceit brings danger, and when death returns to Darkwater, the past reaches into the present. Evil is still at large. Now, with her own safety in peril, Claire and Ivan must work quickly.  Is there going to be another victim, or will justice finally come to Darkwater?

After a decade away from London, the last thing Helen Sinclair wants to do is return. But the shocking murder of her aunt, Estella Balmerino, has left Helen’s other aunt alone and vulnerable. Reluctantly, Helen leaves her steady job and arrives at number 18, Witch Haven Lane, shocked to find it dilapidated and in poor repair.

Her aunts, once celebrated London Psychic Mediums, have obviously fallen upon hard times. Evie, the surviving aunt, seems slightly deranged, and the servants are of dubious character. What is more, Helen, who has long abhorred her family’s bizarre supernatural profession, finds that within the walls of number 18, something not quite of this world eagerly awaits her return.

Befriending Brandon Rafferty, of Scotland Yard, Helen joins forces with the detective, and they embark on a journey to discover who killed her aunt, and why. What could be hidden inside number 18 that is worth killing for? Guided by spirits of the dead, and bemused by the admiration of her aunt’s acquaintance, Nicco Moretti, Helen’s world abounds with adventure. But Helen is being watched by those she cannot see. And by abetting Detective Rafferty in their search for the killer, she has inadvertently placed herself right in the path of danger.

Released June 20th, 2023 (Redbus LLC)

Under the threat of imminent imprisonment, Julia Rossington escapes England and flees to East Africa, where a new job and a better life may await. Living at Jacaranda, a farm owned by intriguing Nick Fleming, Julia embraces her role as nanny to a motherless baby. Life in the wild African bush brings Julia contentment, spoiled only by the open hostility of Nick’s beautiful housekeeper, who fiercely guards the memory of Nick’s murdered wife, Amelia.

The African continent is in uproar. The Boer War rages in South Africa, and ivory and diamonds are smuggled to distant shores as the grip of the British Empire falters. When a member of Julia’s community is murdered, speculation is that Amelia Fleming’s killer is still at large. But Julia has greater concerns, when a face from the past unexpectedly arrives in the area and threatens to expose Julia’s true reason for leaving England.

The killer strikes again, with Jacaranda coming under direct attack. Julia wants to stop running away. This promising new life is something worth fighting for. Yet standing her ground will inevitably make her a target, placing her squarely in the path of danger. Ultimately Julia will learn the hardest lesson of all—Survival.

Released October 10th, 2022 (Redbus LLC)

Ingrid Rutherford did not expect to inherit a unique hunting lodge in Germany. Arriving at Lorelei Lodge to determine whether to sell or keep her mother’s ancestral home, she finds familiar recollections tugging at the corners of her mind. Is this the place that haunts her dreams? Has she been here before? If so, then why can she not remember? Ingrid embraces her newfound independence having lived a mundane life in London under the rule of a strict father. Meeting Baron Maximillian von Brandt offers a pleasant diversion, until Ingrid learns more about the noble family living in the palace to which Lorelei Lodge first belonged. The von Brandts want the lodge back, but at what cost? Digging through her family history reveals more questions than answers. Why did her mother keep so many secrets? Unlocking the key to the past will set off a chain of events leaving Ingrid frightened, and others dead. With the stakes so high, should Ingrid run back to London and safety? Or remain at Lorelei Lodge and finally expose the truth hidden for so long? Staying will place her life in certain peril. Leaving, will surely break her heart.

Released May 6th, 2022 (Redbus LLC)

Working for the wealthy Nightingale family in a Cornish castle, is just the adventure budding novelist and librarian Poppy Livingstone is ready to undertake. The orphaned daughter of a convicted criminal, she is anxious to leave London and strike out on her own. But upon arriving at Pendragon Castle to a discourteous welcome, Poppy finds herself embroiled in a murder investigation, and on the trail of a woman whose mysterious disappearance twenty years earlier has captured her imagination.

Discovering evidence of an embezzler who has infiltrated the Nightingale family’s mining empire, Poppy becomes privy to their identity. Sworn to secrecy by Pendragon’s handsome heir, Clive, she inadvertently becomes a target – and the killer is watching.

When a series of catastrophes jeopardizes the family’s financial future, all evidence points to foul play. Who seeks to ruin Lord Nightingale’s family, and why? The death of another victim tempts Poppy to run for her life. But stubbornly she stands her ground, delves deeper, and boldly confronts an unknown enemy. But a lifetime reading literature is insufficient training as a sleuth. When at last she forces the killer’s hand, Poppy is unprepared for a shocking revelation and her own role in dark secrets of the past. Though the villain will finally be unmasked, ultimately Poppy will question if her entire existence has been a lie.

Released September 30th, 2021 (Redbus LLC)

Jillian Farraday’s life undergoes a dramatic change when two events occur on the same day—her horrific discovery of a corpse floating in Lake Windemere and meeting wealthy socialite, Evergreen LaVelle. In a twist of fate, Jillian is welcomed into a class above her standing, becoming a regular visitor at Hollyfield House, the LaVelles’ charming lakeside home nestled within the heart of the English Lake District.

When Jillian unexpectedly meets local artist, Dominic Wolfe, there is an instant attraction between them. But their chance at love must wait when Dominic’s brother Billy, a young man with Down’s syndrome, is arrested and charged with murder.  Suspecting something underhand at play, Jillian is compelled to help prove Billy’s innocence. And so begins a desperate race against both the clock and the hangman’s noose.

If Billy is not the killer, there is a murderer still at large. When another death occurs and is ruled accidental, Jillian is convinced otherwise and is soon embroiled in an investigation of her own. Determined to stop a miscarriage of justice, she believes the answers lay within Hollyfield House. As her relationship deepens with Dominic, so do her ties to the LaVelle family. Jillian begins to see through their ambiguous façade. For everyone has a secret. And as the truth finally emerges, Jillian will reveal their duplicity—unaware her actions could make her the next to fall.

Kathryn Westcott, masquerading as a tutor, accepts a position at the Clayton ancestral home of Mowbray Manor with one objective–to discover the fate of her friend, Lady Aramintha Clayton. Kathryn is horrified when she learns of Aramintha’s death and the dubious circumstances surrounding how she died. Suspecting the family knows more than they are prepared to say, Kathryn, forms an alliance with both Clayton sons and a tenuous friendship with their aloof half-brother Benedict. One of them holds the key to solve the puzzle of Aramintha’s demise.No one is who they pretend to be in this house full of secrets. Someone does not want their villainy exposed and will use everything within their power to stop Kathryn from revealing the truth. Even if it means murder.

Released June 8th, 2020 (The Wild Rose Press)

James Bucknall can get any woman he wants with one sultry look from his bewitching blue eyes. Handsome, charming, clean-cut, he’s the epitome of a GQ guy. James is also a maniacal serial killer, who murders women as casually as he dates them. At least that is his modus operandi, until he meets Frankie Wilson.

There’s something entrancing about the sad, young woman, that has captivated James’s interest, and right now, she is more appealing alive rather than dead. The surprising discovery of Frankie’s connection to James’s last victim, Charlie, arouses the killer’s interest to unexpected heights.

And that’s when Charlie’s ghost decides to intervene.

Cold-blooded killer Terrance Higgs escapes from a mental institution in the English countryside and manages to catch the last train out. The train is strangely empty, except for one passenger who doesn’t want to talk. The night passes slowly, the train never stopping at other stations until Terrance begins to question where they are going. The comforting rocking motion of the wheels rolling along the tracks lulls Terrance into a dream-filled sleep. The past replays itself while vivid memories dance through his mind.

But as dawn breaks, Terrance realises this is no ordinary train, nor the journey he planned to take. It’s a terrifying destination he never expected. Has the table finally turned? Is the killer now the victim who’ll have to beg for his life?

A Friday the 13th Short Story: 13 authors ~ 13 suspenseful stories. Murder and mayhem on Friday the 13th...Find each story in the series on Amazon.

Robbie enjoys killing beautiful women, loving nothing more than the excitement of the chase. He’s found his next victim in Petra, a deliciously enticing travel agent. Meticulously setting a trap to lure Petra towards a terrifying destiny, his plans go smoothly as he sends yet another woman to an early grave.
But has he?

Robbie is blindsided when out of nowhere, he sees Petra staring at him from a bridge—a living, breathing woman! How is it possible when he left her lying in her own blood? Returning to the scene of the crime, the psychopathic killer is in for the surprise of his life when he finds her body is missing.

As night descends on Hallow House, Robbie learns that sometimes the hunter can also be the quarry……