L.J. Ross
1) Holy Island
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Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory. When former local girl Dr Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to...
2) Sycamore gap
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Series
DCI Ryan mystery volume 2
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DCI Ryan believes he has put his turbulent history behind him. Then, in the early hours of the summer solstice, the skeleton of a young woman is found inside the Roman Wall at Sycamore Gap. She has lain undiscovered for ten years and it is Ryan's job to piece together her past. Enquiry lines cross and merge as Ryan is forced to face his own demons and enter into a deadly game of cat and mouse with a killer who seems unstoppable. Murder and mystery...
3) High force
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Series
The DCI Ryan Mysteries volume 5
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Detective Chief Inspector Ryan's worst nightmare has just become a reality. Notorious serial killer THE HACKER has escaped prison and kidnapped one of his best detectives from her own home. His brutality is the stuff of legend - Ryan lost his sister and nearly his own life bringing the man to justice first time around. Can Ryan do it again to save his friend? There's a nationwide manhunt underway but the trail has gone cold and fear spreads like a...
4) Lady's Well
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Series
The DCI Ryan Mysteries volume 20
Pub. Date
2023
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Description
When the ancient waters of Lady's Well in the rural village of Holystone begin to run red, it seems to be a nasty Hallowe'en prank and nothing more. But things take a sinister turn when the entire village suffers severe poisoning, and one old man turns up dead. Accusations abound in the small, close-knit community, and 'old' religions spar against 'new' while fear runs like wildfire through the streets. With so many potential motives and countless...
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The DCI Ryan Mysteries volume 9
Description
When an old man is found dead inside the ancient hermitage at Warkworth Castle, Northumbria CID are called in to investigate. With no apparent motive, it's their job to unravel why he was murdered - and this time they're forced to do it without their star detective. DCI Ryan is thousands of miles away. He's tracked a killer across Europe and has sworn not to return until he has his man in custody. Nathan Armstrong is a dangerous psychopath but there's...
6) Heavenfield
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Series
DCI Ryan volume 3
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Description
When a man is found dead at the remote church of Heavenfield, DCI Ryan is the only other person for miles around. The police have no weapon, no motive and no other suspects. Already suspended from Northumbria CID, Ryan must fight to clear his name.
7) Longstone
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Viking treasure is discovered beneath the icy waters of the North Sea and local historian Doctor Anna Taylor is called in to help catalogue the most exciting hoard in living memory. But when a shipwreck diver washes up dead, she's soon out of her depth. Luckily, she knows just the person to call. When DCI Ryan arrives at the picturesque fishing town of Seahouses, he's faced with an impenetrable wall of secrets and lies. As he juggles marine archaeology...
8) The rock
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Series
Pub. Date
2021
Description
When a fishing boat is wrecked off the treacherous North Sea coast and the body of a young woman washes up on the beach beside the iconic 'Marsden Rock', DCI Ryan cannot ignore the call to duty. With one already dead and more human cargo missing from the wreckage, Ryan and his team race to find the remaining souls - before it's too late, and their investigation turns to murder. As they uncover the seedy underbelly of Tyneside, cold and calculated...
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The DCI Ryan Mysteries volume 17
Description
After the dramatic theft of a priceless artefact from Durham Cathedral, the rest of the world believes that DCI Ryan and his team were able to recover and return St. Cuthbert's cross to its rightful home. But Ryan knows the cross he recovered was a fake-far from being over, their problems are only just beginning. Just as Ryan and his team begin to unravel the truth behind the spate of mysterious thefts, something even more priceless is stolen - something...
10) Cragside
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After his climactic battle with notorious serial killer THE HACKER, DCI Ryan is spending the summer with his fiancee within the grounds of Cragside, a spectacular Bavarian-style mansion surrounded by acres of woodland. When they are invited to attend the staff summer party - a Victorian murder mystery evening - it's all a joke until the lights go out and an elderly man is found dead. It looks like an unfortunate accident but, as the dead man's life...
11) Angel
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After a turbulent time, DCI Ryan's life is finally returning to normal and he's looking forward to spending an uneventful Easter bank holiday weekend with his fiancee. Then, on Good Friday morning he is called out to a crime scene at one of the largest cemeteries in Newcastle. The body of a redheaded woman has been found buried in a shallow grave and the killer has given her wings, like an angel. Soon, another woman is found at a different cemetery,...
12) Bamburgh
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Pub. Date
2022
Description
When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn't think much of it - except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body. Then another body turns up amongst the sand dunes at the base of the mighty castle fortress, and he decides it can't be a coincidence. Meanwhile, after a recent revelation about her sister, DC Melanie Yates' quest to avenge...
13) The bay
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In the picturesque seaside town of St Ives, Detective Sergeant Sophie Keane is a pillar of the community. Between the occasional collar and lazy weekends spent on the beach, it seems a perfect life. But for Sophie, the golden sands and crystal waters hide a dark secret, one that's lain buried for twenty years. When a body turns up on the opening night of a glittering new art gallery on the seafront, the town is left shaken - especially Sophie, who...
14) Dark skies
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Series
The DCI Ryan Mysteries volume 7
Description
One fateful, starry night, three friends embark on a secret camping trip but only two return home. 30 years later, the body of a teenage boy rises from the depths of England's biggest reservoir and threatens to expose a killer who has lain dormant - until now. Detective Chief Inspector Ryan returns from honeymoon to face danger from all sides. In the depths of Kielder Forest, a murderer has escaped justice before and will do anything to protect the...
15) Ryan's Christmas
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Pub. Date
2020
Description
Christmas can be murder. After a busy year fighting crime, DCI Ryan and his team of murder detectives are enjoying a festive season of goodwill, mulled wine and, in the case of DS Phillips, a stottie cake or two - that is, until a freak snowstorm forces their car off the main road and into the remote heart of Northumberland. Their Christmas spirit is soon tested when they're forced to find shelter inside England's most haunted castle, where they're...
16) The creek
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Kate Irving arrives at her grandfather's cottage at Frenchman's Creek in the dead of night with her young son, a small suitcase and little else. Its scattered community of fishermen, farmers, artists and jetsetters barely bat an eyelid, because theirs is a rarefied world, tucked beneath the lush forest that lines the banks of the Helford Estuary, deep in the heart of Cornwall, where life is slow and people generally mind their own business. Unless,...
17) The shrine
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After a long and eventful winter, DCI Ryan and his team are looking forward to the joys of spring. But, when one of their colleagues is shot dead on her own doorstep and the brass think it's an inside job, Ryan finds himself drafted in to investigate. He's barely scratched the surface when reports flood in of a terror explosion at Durham Cathedral. Chaos descends on the sleepy, historic city and, when the smoke clears, they find a priceless artefact...
18) Impostor
Author
Series
Pub. Date
2019
Description
After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there and, soon enough, he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation. In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic...
19) The cove
Author
Series
Summer Suspense Mysteries volume 1
Description
Gabrielle Adams has it all - brains, beauty, a handsome fiance, and a dream job in publishing. Until, one day, everything changes. The 'Underground Killer' takes his victims when they least expect it: standing on the edge of a busy Tube platform, as they wait for a train to arrive through the murky underground tunnels of London. Gabrielle soon learns that being a survivor is harder than being a victim, and she struggles to return to her old life....
20) The infirmary
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In the stifling summer heat of 2014, a killer has been stalking the streets of Newcastle causing city-wide panic. When the officer in charge of the case turns up dead, it falls upon Detective Chief Inspector Ryan to take up the baton and find the person responsible. To the close-knit team of police in Northumbria CID, Ryan is still an outsider; aloof and uncompromising. He's lived a charmed life and has an unbroken track record to match. But, as The...