Shadow of the Hangman
Set in 1815, this is the first book in an exciting new series. Peter and Paul Skillen are identical twins, fearless thief-takers who stalk the major criminals of London. When they catch a notorious burglar, they pocket a handsome reward and infuriate the Bow Street Runners who believe that they have a monopoly on policing the capital.
During a massacre at Dartmoor of American prisoners of war, two of them escape and come to London to exact retribution. If the Home Secretary ignores their demands, they threaten to kill him. The Skillen brothers are hired to track down the fugitives and to find the Home Office cleaner who has mysteriously disappeared. Enraged at being overlooked, the Runners compete with the twins to bring the villains to justice in a compelling tale of murder, kidnap, revenge, intrigue and political machination.
Hardcover, February 2015
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NICHOLAS BRACEWELL SERIES
The Vagabond Clown
When their resident clown, Barnaby Gill, breaks a leg, Westfield's Men are forced to tour Kent with Gideon Mussett, a troublesome substitute, whom even Nicholas Bracewell is unable to keep under control. The murder of their new clown and the abduction of their leading actor push Westfield's men to the edge of extinction.
"A visit from this delightfully contentious troupe is always a blessing."
New York Times
Paperback, May 2015
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The Counterfeit Crank
Nicholas Bracewell befriends a young beggar who is trying to eke out a living as a counterfeit crank, pretending to have spectacular epileptic fits in order to get money from gullible bystanders. When the beggar is murdered inside Bridewell, Nicholas has to pose as a beggar himself in order to get inside the notorious institution so that he can solve the crime. Counterfeiting of all kinds is exposed.
"A breathtaking finale… a complex but beguiling tale."
Publishers Weekly
"An outstanding historical."
Library Journal
Paperback, May 2015
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The Malevolent Comedy
Saul Hibbert's brilliant new play, The Malevolent Comedy, gets a wonderful reception but the spectators do not realise that one of the actors has been murdered during the performance. Every time the play is staged, more tragedies follow. Is the play or the playwright jinxed? Nicholas Bracewell has to fight tooth and nail to save the theatre company, a struggle that involves a duel with Saul Hibbert and some startling revelations.
"A lively and entertaining caper."
Publishers Weekly
Paperback, November 2015
The Princess of Denmark
A fire at the Queen's Head deprives Westfield's Men of their home so they seize the opportunity to travel to Denmark with their patron, Lord Westfield, who is to marry a beautiful young Danish widow. When they reach Elsinore castle, they are given a warm welcome but the murder of Rolfe Harling, who brokered the wedding, changes the whole atmosphere of the place. Danger threatens from all sides, not least from England itself where the father of a young man who died in the fire seeks revenge and dispatches two assassins after the troupe.
They are soon caught up in a complex web of political intrigue and betrayal. Nicholas Bracewell is faced with his most difficult and perilous case yet. When their patron decides that he has changed his mind about the marriage, Nicholas has another problem to solve.
"The plot moves briskly as a mystery, the detail gives the book a fascinating array of colours."
Chicago Tribune
"A richly detailed evocation of time and place, enhanced by vividly diverse characters and a plot that remains suspenseful to the last page."
Kirkus Reviews
Paperback, November 2015
RAILWAY DETECTIVE SERIES
Timetable of Death
In the twelfth novel in the Railway Detective series, Colbeck and Leeming go to Derby to solve the murder of the man tipped to become the next Chairman of the Midland Railway. They meet resistance from the local police and all manner of serious problems, not least the reluctance of the family of the deceased to provide information. Matters are not helped when Superintendent Tallis turns up keep an eye on them.
The investigation takes them all over the county but it is only when Colbeck's wife, Madeleine, is involved that they make real headway. Appropriately, when Colbeck has a guided tour of the Derby Works, he unearths a vital clue that helps him, in due course, to identify the villains.
Hardcover, June 2015
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A Ticket to Oblivion
The eleventh novel in the Railway Detective series begins when two young women catch a train to Oxford and fail to arrive at their destination.
Robert Colbeck and Victor Leeming are called in to investigate but they are faced with many obstacles, not least the high-handed attitude of Sir Marcus Burnhope, father of one of the missing women. The detectives follow a twisting trail that takes them to various parts of England then on to a thrilling climax in Ireland.
Paperback, June 2015
HOME FRONT DETECTIVE SERIES
Dance of Death
The fifth book in the Home Front Detective series confronts Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy with their most baffling case.
In the small hours of the morning, Simon Wilder slips out of a house and walks jauntily in the direction of his home. It takes him a few seconds to realise that a Zeppelin raid is taking place and that several people have come out of their houses to look up at the sky. Hearing the drone overhead, Wilder gazes upwards. When a Zeppelin suddenly bursts into flame, shot down by a British plane, there is a concerted cheer then people break into patriotic song.
Wilder is unable to join in because he has been stabbed to death.
Assigned to the case, Marmion and Keedy learn that Wilder is a brilliant dancer who ran a well-attended Dance Studio. Women formed the majority of those who had private lessons from him so jealous husbands are potential suspects. There are many others. Wilder seems to have had a gift for creating enemies. The detectives have to trawl through a large number of them - and face grave danger in the process - before they can begin to track down the killer, and they are hampered at every stage by severe friction on the domestic front. The dance of death proves to be a hazardous one.
Hardcover, October 2015
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Deeds of Darkness
The fourth book in the Home Front Detective series confronts Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy with a case that tests all their abilities.
During a Charlie Chaplin film, a young woman is strangled to death in a cinema. It emerges that her husband is away in the army. The detectives wonder why the killer took the risk of committing a murder in such a public place. They make slow progress at first then the crime is pushed off the front pages of the newspapers by the start of the battle of the Somme.
Because his son is involved, Marmion has a special interest in events in France but his attention is quickly brought back to London when a second murder occurs. A young art student is found dead in a public park and there are clear indications that she's the victim of the same killer. Where will he strike next?
Paperback, October 2015
The novels
| Buy from Amazon |
| The series: |
| Domesday |
| Nicholas Bracewell |
| Redmayne |
| Inspector Colbeck |
| Daniel Rawson |
| Home Front Detective |
| Dillman and Masefield Writing as Conrad Allen |
| Alan Saxon Writing as Keith Miles |
| Merlin Richards Writing as Keith Miles |
| Miscellaneous publications |
About the author |
| Links |
| About this website |
aol.com
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