The Woman With The Red Hair

The Woman With The Red Hair is a debut novel from Clive Tuckett.

Harry Frobisher, along with many other young men, had suffered badly during the Great War. He was traumatised and left sightless.

He returns to his family's ancestral home on Bodmin Moor. He feels that he needs to seek reconciliation with William, his brother, after the murder of their parents.

But there has been a second murder on the moors. And not only that, but there have been reported sightings of the apparition of a woman with red hair out on the moors.

Some locals are convinced that is Morag Donaldson, formerly the secretary of Lord and Lady Frobisher, Harry's parents.

After being found guilty of the murders, Morag had been committed to an insane asylum.

The local police find themselves baffled by the case and so it falls to Inspector Edwards of Scotland Yard to come from London to take over the investigation.

His immediate conclusion? That the case was far more complex than the local police had assumed and that the whole investigation needed to be reopened in order for him to establish who had committed the murder and what their motive might have been.

This is an evocative and emotionally charged piece of detective fiction. The irst of many such novels from Clive, it is to be hoped.

It is published by The Book Guild at £9.99.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor is a novel by Mo McDonald.

Way back in the 1980s, Jack Kelly was famous as both as a successful novelist and a celebrity broadcaster.

He had the lifestyle to match, an army of fans and the ability to do, pretty much, whatever he wanted, when he wanted. Life was good.

Now, moving forward to today, his secretary gives him an urgent call. She is warning Jack that a story on social media concerning Jack has gone viral.

It brings to light details of a relationship he had with a woman called Marian Davies, 30 years previously.

Why this? Why now? Especially at a time when Jack is ready for a very important career move, he doesn't want or need even a hint of scandal.

He takes the time to examine his life of the last three decades, looking back to a time that was pre-social media, the last time he had seen Marian, during the time when a celebrity could fairly easy control the narrative of their public persona.

But the question remained: Where had Marian been all these years? And why had she reappeared?

And would there be a price for Jack to pay all these years later?

It's a debut novel and hopefully the first of many novels from Mo.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

An Urgent Murder

An Urgent Murder is a thrilling detective  novel form Alex Winchester.

A murder had to be performed. And urgently! Should the victim be made to suffer? Perhaps.

And if the blame could be placed on an innocent person? So what?

A murder is undertaken in a home. When the police find the murder weapon (a jar of poison apparently with the fingerprints of the killer on it, the police declare that the case is closed. The nurse (whose fingerprints were those on the bottle) does not admit to the murder, but then she doesn't actually deny it, either.

However, there's one detective who isn't quite so certain about her guilt.

John has had a long and chequered career as a Met detective. His attitude to policing is perhaps a little flexible, but he is surprised when he is teamed up with Alison who is a young officer from the Sussex Police force, who does it all by the book.

There are many twists and turns in this fast paced thriller. Who was the murder victim, really? Why did he have to die?

Can Alison trust John? Can they trust their own police force, or, as they suspect, is there a mole within their organisation feeding information back to a shadowy crime baron?

Can they use their skills and experiences as police detectives to bring the killer to Justice?

And will the killings stop?

Published by Matador at £9.99, this is a must read for all thriller and detective fiction fans.

The Arnolfini Connection

The Arnolfini Connection is a novel from Brenda Turner.

It is a compelling historical novel from the pen of Brenda Turner.

Vilnius is an important city, dear to the people of Lithuania, the capital of which it is.

However, in the first part of the 20th century the city was populated almost completely by non-Lithuanians.

Not surprisingly Lithuanians were very unhappy about this situation and would go to almost any lengths to address this problem. Even if this meant they had to seek the help of outside powers.

Amidst this tense situation a clandestine love affair between two youngsters from two opposing families brought about a reprehensible assault.

Circumstances resulted in their separation between London and Vilnius. they find that circumstances totally outside their control shatter their lives even further, with the advent of the Second World War.

However, the young lovers are linked by a joint passion for a Renaissance painting from the 15th century.

Can this be the key to getting them back together?

The story is very well-written and draws on the family links of Brenda Turner to Vilnius.

It is published by The Book Guild and costs £8.99.

When the Ice Dog Comes

When the Ice Dog Comes is a new book from author P K Bell.

It tells the story of Westie Lady Corrie-Rex Arabella Jayne, in the sequel to Letters to Daddy.

Granpappy has sent a message in the form of the Ice Dog. And so our Westie heroine. She must  discover what fate had befallen her long lost Mammy and Pappy, stolen by dog kidnappers, and never heard from again.

She decides to leave home, trusting the safety of her humoan family to Max the Muckhart Warrior.

But Max is a Westie who is capable - of getting everyone into trouble!

During a family holiday in Scotland he finds the Loch Ness Monster (or does he?) Can Daddy be counted to come to the rescue?

This is a modern, action-packed adventure for children and adults of all ages (it's ideal to read together) and it is charmingly illustrated throughout by Paula Jasper-Osbourne. And the illustrations are specially designed so that you can colour them in!

It's published by Matador at £5.99.

Rude Rousing Revenge

Rude Rousing Revenge is a new novel from Robert Hobbs.

The protagonist, Karen, is a no nonsense kind of a woman. She's highly successful. And she's also heading toward her 40th birthday.

She is beginning to wonder about her life. Is this all there is? Why now, amidst all this success, is she starting to feel unchallenged? As if her near perfect existence might not be enough?

But then Karen's life is hit by the terrible news that her sister has been brutally slain.

Six months after this tragic even and with the police nowhere near to finding the culprit, Karen decides to take matters into her own hands.

If the police cannot track down and expose the person responsible for the brutal murder of her sister, then she will!

However, someone is watching Karen's efforts with alarm.

What if she should discover the truth about what happened and why it happened?

Perhaps it would be better to have Karen removed?

And why do people keep getting shot to death?

There's also a very dramatic twist that I will leave you to discover when you buy the book.

It's published by The Book Guild at £8.99.

Mercy or Mercenary

Mercy or Mercenary is a new, thought-provoking thriller from Sheila Parker.

The impact that Alzheimer's can have on an individual and their family can be devastating.

But does that excuse someone who decides that they should have the power of life or death over someone?

Leo Adare, a famous actor, is having his biography written, by a team of writers. Ralph Maguire, Ralph's friend Duncan Sinclair and his doting wife, Isabel. What is remarkable about this is that Ralph is suffering from Alzheimer's.

However, Ralph dies and the post mortem reveals that he died as a result of the medication that he was taking.

But there's a twist that interests the police and everyone else involved. It would have been impossible for Ralph to get to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom without help.

So, who was it administered the fatal dose? And why did they do it?

Was it a mercy killing or a mercenary killing?

There are many twists and turns in this thriller that takes an interesting peek into the murky world of mercy killings.

It's published by Matador at £8.99.