"A gripping and powerfully atmospheric thriller from a writer at the very top of his game." – Mark Billingham Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch will never see thirty again. Nor forty. A lifetime on the force and all she has to show for it is a couple of hundred pounds in the bank and a mortgaged flat in Highgate Borders. When the take down of a violent criminal goes badly wrong leaving both the target and a young constable dead, something doesn't feel right to Maddy. And her uneasiness is only compounded when she starts to believe someone is following her home. In Cornwall retired Detective Inspector Elder's solitary life is disturbed by a phone call from his estranged wife Joanne. Seventeen-year-old Katherine is running wild. Elder's fears for his daughter are underscored by remorse and guilt for it was his involvement that led directly to the abduction and rape that has so unbalanced Katherine's life. Maddy and Elder have a connection. A brief, clumsy encounter sixteen years earlier. Just a quick grope and a cuddle, leading to nothing, but leaving a trace of lingering regret. In Ash Bone the unsettled, unhappy Elder is once again persuaded out of retirement. A cold, cold case has a devastating present day impact with sinister implications for the crime squad itself. Elder's investigation takes place against the backdrop of his increasing concern for his daughter and he must battle his own demons before he can uncover the truth

It's fascinating to see some of my favourite crime novelists coming together to create a taut, tense thriller; each chapter stands alone as a powerful story, yet they also combine seamlessly into a great read. Genuinely gripping.' – Harlan Coben *** With each crime writer picking up the story in their usual locale, each of the authors tell a gripping story of murder, betrayal and intrigue. Running through each story is a charm bracelet which brings bad luck wherever it's found. Set in locations ranging from nineteenth-century Georgia to wartime Leeds, the book features stories from contributors such as Peter Robinson (writing about 1940s Leeds), Fidelis Morgan, Lynda La Plante (1970s Britain), Val McDermid (1980s Scotland) and Mark Billingham tackling contemporary London

An anthology of stories The city is at the centre of all good crime writing: Los Angeles has Raymond Chandler, Chicago has Sara Paretsky and Mexico City has Paco Taibo. London has the contributors to London Noir who explore the dark underbelly of London and celebrate the triple by-passed heart of England's capital city. They reveal London to be a city of mayhem and depravity not to be recommended to tourists from Miami!

Paris Noir is a collection of new stories about the dark side of Paris, with contributions by leading French, British and American authors who have all either lived or spent a significant amount of time in Paris. Edited by Maxim Jakubowski, the stories range from quietly menacing to spectacularly violent, and include contributions from some of the most famous crime writers from both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the other side of the Channel

An anthology of stories Following the huge success of the previous BBM collections comes the latest batch of stories from the UK's top-flight crime writers. Alongside an "Inspector Morse" story from Colin Dexter and a "Rumpole" tale from John Mortimer, is Jake Arnott's first short story and a wealth of exclusive stories from some of Britain's most exciting up-and-coming young crime writers. An ideal present for anyone who has ever enjoyed a good murder-mystery, "The Best British Mysteries 2006" will cause many sleepless nights of avid page turning!

Jack Kiley, a professional footballer turned private investigator, is hired to track down a solider who has gone missing while on leave from Iraq. The soldier's mind is disturbed by what he has seen and done in the war, and he is armed. There are fears both for the man himself and for the safety of his estranged wife and two young children. Kiley's search leads him to Nottingham, where he teams up with D. I. Charlie Resnick. Together they search the house where the soldier's wife and children have been living and find them gone, almost certainly taken against their will… the only question now is, will they find them before it is too late? Trouble in Mind brings together two of John Harvey’s major characters