Mersea Island. Over 2,500 acres of farmland, marshland, and several caravan parks. Usually, it is home to 7,000 people. But for the August Bank Holiday weekend, it is home to two more residents: DS Tomek Bowen and his daughter, Kasia, looking to make the most of the end of the school holidays, the end of summer, and the end of Tomek’s extended time away from work.
But when a body is discovered tethered to a buoy one morning, Tomek is pulled into the murky world of murder and death sooner than anticipated. Cut off from his team and the rest of the police force, Tomek is forced to put his years of experience into practice. But as the tide comes closer, severing connection with the outside world, can he catch the killer before they strike again?
Death’s Breath is the fantastic eighth book in the DS Tomek Bowen Essex Murder Mystery series by Jack Probyn. If you love fast-paced British police procedurals filled with memorable characters, mind-bending twists that will keep you guessing, and oodles of black humor, you’ll love this series. Fans of JD Kirk, Mark Billingham, and JM Dalgliesh can’t put this book down.
THE SETTING: Mersea Island, a seemingly tranquil retreat off the Essex coast, hides a web of secrets beneath its picturesque surface. As the tide rolls in, it reveals crumbling boathouses and rusting fishing gear, relics of a once-thriving community now marred by evidence of crime. Narrow lanes wind through quaint cottages, where the laughter of children is overshadowed by the ominous presence of a shadowy figure lurking in the dusk. Here, amid the charm and isolation, the island’s true nature waits, ready to ensnare the unwary.
The brilliant conclusion to this intriguing historical, murder mystery series. A gripping finale.
As one killer dies, another emerges. Has DCI Price grown too close to the Lancefields to see the truth?
DCI Ennor Price, so close to finally solving the Lancefield murders, is sure of his suspect. All he lacks now is the cold, hard evidence he needs to bring the killer to justice. So, when an unexpected invitation to a society wedding at Liberation Park gives him the opportunity to get closer to his quarry, he can hardly believe his luck.
Newly-promoted DI Steph Hall, brought in to investigate a suspicious death at the exclusive Yorkshire wedding venue, laughs off any possible links to the Lancefields. But as the facts unfold, and she listens to Price, it soon becomes clear that his invitation to the wedding was more than a simple coincidence.
Five hundred miles away in Penzance, DS Tom Parkinson is called upon to investigate the disappearance of an all-too-familiar face. But when evidence emerges to link the missing woman to the tragic events at Liberation Park, old sins and bitter jealousies resurface.
And as Price, Parkinson and Hall begin to draw in the net around the Lancefields, what remains of the family begins to implode as suspect turns against suspect and the investigation reaches its gripping, unforgettable conclusion.
Detective Chief Inspector Rosie Marks, known to many as ‘Yorkshire Rosie’, is a respected and popular police officer. Brilliant, clever, and successful, she heads up a team fighting county lines and related crimes in the spa town of Harrogate under the project name ‘Operation Caterpillar’.
OCG (Organised Crime Group) boss, Brian Hazell, has been a police target for some time, but will do anything, no matter how evil, to avoid arrest. So, when Hazell’s thugs make a mistake, police detectives, including Rosie, see an opportunity to bring him to justice. However, efforts to hunt him down are hampered by an informer inside Harrogate Police Station, and Rosie needs to find out who it is.
As life throws a barrage of difficulties in her direction, Rosie has to focus on the important matters. Hazell, and other criminals cannot be allowed to succeed.
The brilliant eighth book in the Stella Bled series. Impossible to put down.
Nuremberg, 1941
A Hail Mary mission. A city in the heart of the Reich. The mother of all mistakes.
The war is heating up, but all Stella Bled Lawrence wants to do is cool down. She expected a rest after multiple missions, but when the SIS needs her skills, she can’t say no.
Soon she’s accompanying the wily double agent Cyril Welk to Nuremberg to uncover information that England believes is essential.
Surrounded by fervent Nazis of all stripes, Stella has just weeks to fit herself into a new mold at Hitler’s favorite hotel, but the mission goes sideways almost immediately and she’s on her own.
When a notorious Nazi shows up, things take a turn for the worse when Stella becomes a target for his attention. Can she get the information the British seek? Will it change the course of the war? Can she get out alive?
Operation Knickknack is the action-packed eighth installment in the on-going Stella Bled series, detailing the bravery and sacrifices needed to fight during the darkest days of WWII.
A cryptic note. A missing cop. And a secret buried deep inside the force…
Detective Joe Hogarth thought he’d lost Dylan Wray forever—until an unexpected note arrives, hinting Wray might still be alive. But hope turns to horror when the message leads Hogarth into a deadly trap, and a key witness is silenced before they can speak.
A mutilated body. An undercover case from 2012. And a mole hidden within the force. As Hogarth digs deeper, buried secrets claw their way to the surface, and the deeper he goes, the deadlier it gets. Someone inside wants this case buried. Permanently.
Corruption runs deep. The mastermind is watching. And if Hogarth wants answers, he’ll have to survive first.
Perfect for fans of gritty UK crime, layered conspiracies, and detectives who refuse to back down.
The truth didn’t vanish—it was hidden. And someone is ready to kill to keep it that way…
Another wonderful and humorous instalment in the Guesthouse on the Green series as Mammy and Moira travel Vietnam.
I love the series and can't wait for book four!
A quick but emotional read - reading about the cruelty to the dog was heartbreaking but this was a lovely tale of the love and healing that animals can bring to our lives.
I would have given five stars but for the missed typos - a few t...
I get the impression that this could be a nice story but I've had to give up after forcing myself to go as far as 15% of the way through. If this novel has ever been near a remotely professional editor then the author was conned.
Chapte...
Another very enjoyable story but with a few niggles, hence the four stars rather than five. Maybe it's because I was tired but the editing issues grated on me more than in the first story and, do people really generally believe that 'ear...
