Bøger af David Menon

Why would a woman who runs a corner shop in South Manchester be shot dead in cold blood in apparently contract killing? Who could she have offended so much that they wanted her out of the way permanently? And what's happened to her partner? They're supposed to be inseperable but she hasn't been seen at all on the day of the killing and has disappeared. DSI Jeff Barton and his team, including newcomer Louisa Pilkington who joins as a civilian member but who holds a pretty big secret of her own, begin to unravel a complicated trail in pursuit of a killer who brings a touch of espionage and the Cold war into the investigation. More murders put the pressure on Jeff to find a way through and see what's really going on and apprehend a determined killer.

Members of a notorious gang of teenage boys on an estate in east Manchester are being murdered in a particularly gruesome manner. Is it some kind of vendetta? The list of potential suspects would be long if it was but Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton and his team have to contend with a hostile neighbourhood that won't co-operate with them and the death of an elderly woman on the estate who was prevented from getting to hospital on time. A white girl associated with the gang has gone to ground but why? The body count rises and Jeff is suspicious of certain individuals not directly involved with the estate but who may hold vital information, including his sister who comes back into his life following an incident between her employer and Jeff's nephew. Difficult and uncomfortable questions about race relations and the nature of sexual abuse can't be ignored as Jeff and his team try to find their way through a case that isn't quite as simple as just murder.

No Questions Asked picks up where 'Storms' left off in the back garden of Jeff Barton's house where he's hosting a barbecue for neighbours, family and friends. But the party is abruptly ended when the body of an eleven year-old child, the son of one of Jeff's neighbours, is found in the woods nearby. As the covers are lifted on the secrets held by those living around him he wonders if a child killer could be actually living on his street. Whilst he tries to take his relationship with his deputy, DI Rebecca Stockton, to a deeper level the investigation brings him back into confrontation with his old nemesis Bernie Connelly who is one of Manchester's most notorious gangsters and has a personal interest in finding the child killer, leading him to pick off a list of paedophiles who are the prime suspects. Added to everything else is a case of political corruption that may or may not be linked to the murders and this proves to be one of Jeff Barton's most complicated and yet most urgent of cases to solve.

Jeff Barton returns from his holiday to see his late wife's relatives in China in a relaxed and refreshed mood but that's soon put to the test. He's used to being under pressure to find answers but this is different. He begins to feel there's a force within the force that doesn't want him and his team to make any progress. But he's a police officer. He solves crimes. He doesn't let anyone deter him from his task no matter who they are and the more he pulls at the thread of information that comes his way the more he believes that the murders are a warning. But from who and for what? Why did sixteen year old Sheridan Taylor go off that night? What does it have to do with her school teacher and why can't Jeff have any extra resources for his investigation?

Eleven stories about women. They love, they hate, they nurture, they control beyond all reason, they kill, they're good, they're bad, they're angels and they're the devil. See if you can spot anyone you know in any of them.

AUTHOR'S NOTE - all of these short stories have been published before in other collections but now they're all together for the first time. These 13 tales about love and loss, happiness and misery, all lead to the conclusion that karma only happens if you go out and make it happen.

Detective Superintendent Jeff Barton is back and investigating a series of brutal murders of men who are out on stag nights in the centre of Manchester. But is this the work of a psychopath or, as Jeff comes to expect, an even more chilling story of someone who'll do anything for anyone just to belong? During the course of the investigation, Jeff has to confront an old adversary in the form of one of Manchester's most notorious gangsters. But is this crime boss really associated with the killings or is Jeff only seeing what he wants to? And what connection is there with the murder of a bride on her wedding night in a swanky Manchester hotel? Jeff and his deputy DS Rebecca Stockton continue to dance around their feelings for each other but they have to put that to one side to find a killer before someone else is found dead the morning after the night before.

Assume nothing about anyone. That's what DCI Sara Hoyland comes to believe after a terrorist attack rips through Manchester's Piccadilly station. The city is plunged into crisis. Community is set against community and leaders, like the MP Craig Sutherland, are trying to keep a hold on more extreme elements of public opinion. But then the terrorists strike again resulting in one of Sara's officers fighting for his life in hospital. Establishment fingers are pointed at the usual suspects but are they really the perpetrators? Is there another force at work that's more sinister than an extremist group because it hides behind the cover of democracy? Why is the MP, Craig Sutherland receiving anonymous death threats? Why has a respected political journalist gone missing after returning from an assignment in the US leaving only his dead girlfriend in his apartment? Why is vandalism being carried out on Jewish homes in a Manchester suburb? And what will finally lead Sara to uncovering the devastating truth?