The Crime Vault Unlocked at Harrogate 2022

David Wilson uncovers the truth behind Peter Farquhar's murder, and the psychopath who almost got away with it.

The shocking story of the murder of Peter Farquhar and the churchwarden who groomed and betrayed him, from the UK's leading criminologist David Wilson.

Two deaths.

Three doors apart.

An unsuspecting community about to realise there's a killer in their midst.  

In October 2015, Peter Farquhar was found dead in his house in Maids Moreton, lying on the sofa next to a bottle of whisky. An inquest was made, and Peter's death was quickly ruled an accident.

But after the death of another elderly neighbour, the dreadful truth began to emerge: both victims had been groomed, seduced and mentally tortured by a young man, Benjamin Field, who had used his position of power in the community to target and exploit the elderly.

He almost got away with it.  

Very little shocks criminologist David Wilson, but this extraordinary case in his sleepy hometown astounded him. Wilson felt duty-bound to follow its trail, discovering how his tightknit community failed to intervene, how a psychopath went undetected for years, and how Peter unwittingly supplied the blueprint for his own murder.

A Plot to Kill is a chilling, gripping account of a callous murder in the heart of middle England, a fight for justice, and a revealing insight into the mind of a killer.

A Plot to Kill, written and read by David Wilson (Audiobook extract)

The thrilling 19th novel in the million-copy bestselling series takes DSI William Lorimer out of his iconic Glasgow and into the wilderness of the Scottish Highlands for the very first time.

 ***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES*** 

Whether you've read them all or whether you're discovering Alex Gray's bestselling series for the first time, ECHO OF THE DEAD will have you gripped until the final page.

'Echo of the Dead will keep you guessing LIN ANDERSON
Echo of the Dead is Alex Gray at her finest DOULGAS SKELTON 
An exciting procedural' SUNDAY TIMES 


After a stressful winter, DSI William Lorimer is enjoying some time away from Glasgow. He and his new friend, Daniel Kohi, have retreated to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to unwind. But what awaits them is far from a holiday.

Despite its troubled history, the mountain village of Glencoe is now a popular resort, famed for its close-knit community, its breath-taking scenery and the warm welcome it offers weary travellers. So it's particularly shocking when two bodies are discovered in quick succession on the nearby peaks .  .  .

With a potential serial killer on the loose, Lorimer's Major Incidents Team are drafted in from Glasgow. It's clear that a dark secret lurks beneath the wild beauty of this place.  But will Lorimer manage to root it out before the killer strikes again?
____________

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT ALEX GRAY

"I have read every book in the Lorimer series and each one has been a pleasure" *****
"Alex Gray is a master storyteller" *****
"She never disappoints" *****
"I cannot wait for the next book" *****
"Her writing always keeps me engrossed" *****

Echo of the Dead by Alex Gray, read by David Monteath (Audiobook extract)

A dark and twisted crime novel, this is the eagerly anticipated follow up to Dead Ground.

'Mesmerising, macabre and murderously funny. The Botanist is M.W. Craven at his sinister best. I couldn't love this series more' Chris Whitaker

'Another classy thriller from the king of Cumbrian crime'  Paul Finch

'I swear I'm one bad mood away from calling it black magic and going home . . .'

Detective Sergeant Washington Poe can count on one hand the number of friends he has. And he'd still have his thumb left. There's the insanely brilliant, guilelessly innocent civilian analyst, Tilly Bradshaw of course. He's known his beleaguered boss, Detective Inspector Stephanie Flynn for years as he has his nearest neighbour, full-time shepherd/part-time dog sitter, Victoria.

And then there's Estelle Doyle. It's true the caustic pathologist has never walked down the sunny side of the street but this time has she gone too far? Shot twice in the head, her father's murder appears to be an open and shut case.  Estelle has firearms discharge residue on her hands, and, in a house surrounded by fresh snow, hers are the only footprints going in. Since her arrest she's only said three words: 'Tell Washington Poe.'

Meanwhile, a poisoner the press have dubbed the Botanist is sending high profile celebrities poems and pressed flowers. The killer seems to be able to walk through walls and, despite the advance notice he gives his victims, and regardless of the security measures the police take, he seems to be able to kill with impunity.

For a man who hates locked room mysteries, this is going to be the longest week of Washington Poe's life . . .

Praise for The Botanist:

'Unputdownable, gripping, clever and with a rich seam of trademark Craven humour running through it' Imran Mahmood

'A sinful treat' Vaseem Khan

'Fast, furious, and utterly enjoyable.' Keith Nixon

Praise for M W Craven:


'Heart-pounding, hilarious, sharp and shocking, Dead Ground is further proof that M.W. Craven never disappoints. Miss this series at your peril.' Chris Whitaker

'Dark and entertaining, this is top rank crime fiction.' Vaseem Khan, Author of the Malabar House series and the Baby Ganesh Agency series

'M. W. Craven is one of the best crime writers working today. Dead Ground is a cracking puzzle, beautifully written, with characters you'll be behind every step of the way. It's his best yet.' Stuart Turton

'Fantastic' Martina Cole

'Dark, sharp and compelling' Peter James

'I've been following M.W. Craven's Poe/Tilly series from the very beginning, and it just gets better and better. Dead Ground is a fast-paced crime novel with as many twists and turns as a country lane. I can't wait for the next one.' Peter Robinson

'Dead Ground is both entertaining and engaging with great characters and storyline. I loved this first dip into the world of Tilly and Poe!' BA Paris

'A brutal and thrilling page turner' Natasha Harding, The Sun

'A thrilling curtain raiser for what looks set to be a great new series' Mick Herron

'A powerful thriller from an explosive new talent. Tightly plotted, and not for the faint hearted!'
David Mark

'A gripping start to a much anticipated new series' Vaseem Khan

'Satisfyingly twisty and clever and the flashes of humour work well to offer the reader respite from the thrill of the read.' Michael J. Malone

'Nothing you've ever read will prepare you for the utterly unique Washington Poe' Keith Nixon

The Botanist by M W Craven, read by John Banks (Audiobook extract)

TOM THORNE IS BACK . . . AND SO IS HIS WORST NIGHTMARE

A gripping, grisly read. Mark Billingham is a terrific crime writer' ----- ANTHONY HOROWITZ


Tom Thorne has it all.

In Nicola Tanner and Phil Hendricks, Thorne has good friends by his side. He finally has a love life worth a damn and is happy in the job to which he has devoted his life...

He has everything to lose.

Hunting the woman responsible for a series of grisly murders, Thorne has no way of knowing that he will be plunged into a nightmare from which he may never wake.

And he'll do anything to keep it.

Finally, Thorne's past has caught up with him and a ruinous secret is about to be revealed. If he wants to save himself and his friends, he must do the unthinkable.


PRAISE FOR MARK BILLINGHAM

'Mark Billingham is a master of psychology'
Ian Rankin

'Fast-paced and twisting'
Paula Hawkins

'At the very least it should reach the shortlist of this year's Booker prize'
The Times

The Murder Book, written and read by Mark Billingham (Audiobook extract)

THE BRAND-NEW THRILLER FROM THE RICHARD & JUDY PICK AUTHOR AND SIX-MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER

'Compulsively readable . . . A nail-biter' LINWOOD BARCLAY
________________

Twenty years ago, Cyrus Haven's family was murdered and only he and his brother survived. Cyrus because he hid. Elias because he was the killer.

Now Elias is being released from a secure psychiatric hospital and Cyrus, a forensic psychologist, must decide if he can forgive the man who destroyed his childhood.

As he prepares for the homecoming, Cyrus is called to a crime scene in Nottingham. A man is dead and his daughter, Maya, is missing. Then a second woman is abducted. The only witness is Evie Cormac, a troubled teenager with a gift for knowing when people are lying.

Both missing women have dark secrets that Cyrus must unravel to find them - and he and Evie know how the past can come back to haunt you . . .
________________

'The sort of thriller that pins you to your seat until you've finished it: a proper heart-pounding mystery with unforgettable characters and compelling twists' JANE CASEY

'Michael Robotham is one of the most accomplished thriller writers in the world right now. Superbly paced, intricately plotted and packed with characters that leap off the page. Sensational' M.W. CRAVEN

'I devoured Lying Beside You in two sittings. What a terrific writer and a fantastic read - pacey, spare and engrossing' AJAY CHOWDHURY

'I loved Lying Beside You. Michael Robotham is such a wonderfully perceptive writer; rich, real characters who are constantly surprising . . . I could read about these two forever' ALEX MARWOOD

'Tense, perceptive and fast-moving, this is a remarkable novel' LITERARY REVIEW


WHEN YOU ARE MINE was a No.1 fiction bestseller in Australia in June 2021

Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham, read by Joe Jameson (Audiobook extract)

On sale April 15th, 2025

From an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy comes The Raven Scholar, a masterfully woven and playfully inventive tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar’s quest to uncover the truth.

Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered. We know who did it. We saw it happen. No one else did.

It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.

If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.

The Raven Scholar By Antonia Hodgson, Read By Daphne Kouma (Audiobook Excerpt)

TROUBLED BLOOD is the next thrilling instalment in the highly acclaimed, international bestselling series featuring Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, written by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym of J.K. Rowling.

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he is approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough - who went missing in mysterious circumstances in 1974.

Strike has never tackled a cold case before, let alone one forty years old. But despite the slim chance of success, he is intrigued and takes it on; adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency, Robin Ellacott, are currently working on. And Robin herself is also juggling a messy divorce and unwanted male attention, as well as battling her own feelings about Strike.

As Strike and Robin investigate Margot's disappearance, they come up against a fiendishly complex case with leads that include tarot cards, a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot all be trusted. And they learn that even cases decades old can prove to be deadly . . .

A breathtaking, labyrinthine epic, Troubled Blood is the fifth Strike and Robin novel and the most gripping and satisfying yet.


Praise for the Strike series:

'A blistering piece of crime writing'
Sunday Times

'The work of a master storyteller'
Daily Telegraph

'Unputdownable'
Daily Express

'Highly inventive storytelling'
Guardian

'Superb . . . an ingenious whodunnit'
Sunday Mirror

'Come for the twists and turns and stay for the beautifully drawn central relationship'
Independent

'Outrageously entertaining'
Financial Times

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister (Audiobook extract)

Hachette Audio UK is the audiobook imprint of the Little, Brown Book Group. We publish a diverse list with fantastic authors such as J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Mark Billingham, Iain Banks, John Steinbeck, Walter Isaacson and Malcolm Gladwell. Follow us on SoundCloud for pre-publication clips, audio extras and more.  

A Plot to Kill, written and read by David Wilson (Audiobook extract)

Little, Brown Audio

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