English Private Detectives

Hot on the success of her first case, British female sleuth Daisy Dunlop can count the offers of work on one finger. An empty bank account and the need to prove to her business partner, private investigator Solomon Liffey, that she is an asset, not a liability, calls for drastic measures. Terror has to be overcome as she answers a plea to find the one thing that gives her night sweats and flashbacks. An animal. A missing stud poodle, to be exact.

Waking up beside the gorgeous Savannah Jones, John is shocked to learn she was for hire, and he can't pay the price - 1000 pounds or broken legs. In desperation, he turns to best friend, Mark, for the money. Only one problem - Mark has a dagger in his back.

David Virden's case is simple enough: Namless must find his ex-wife and deliver some papers to her. But she refuses the papers, sends a message to Virden to never contact her again, and slams the door. His colleague, Tamara, tells Nameless that Virden threatens to sue, stops payment on his checks, and claims that the woman they located isn't his wife. Then he disappears and his fiancée hires Nameless to find out why. Clearly, someone is trying to make Nameless the monkey in the middle. Then things take a decidedly more deadly turn....

Two novellas and two short stories featuring Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Bill Pronzini's iconic Nameless Detective. Zigzag is an original novella in which a safe and simple accident investigation becomes the unraveling of a twisted murder scheme.

Hettie and Tilly are summoned to a mysterious tea party hosted by Tilly's long-lost great-aunts. The ancient windmill they live in is not what it seems, and very soon the mill begins to reveal its terrifying secrets of murder and betrayal. Tilly must face her family's demons as Hettie fights to unravel the tragedies of the past. Who are the hippy cats camped in the field? Why do the walls of the windmill whisper at night? And who haunts the derelict priory? Will Hettie and Tilly have the wind blown out of their sails before this baffling case is brought to a grinding conclusion?

No longer a chief inspector, Chen Cao finds himself as director of the Shanghai Judicial System Reform Office. To outsiders, it’s a promotion, but Chen knows he’s being removed from the spotlight as he’s immediately placed on involuntary "convalescence leave" to stop him interfering with any cases. However, with various high-profile crimes making headlines and fears escalating over vigilante reprisals, Chen’s superiors know he must at least appear active.

Once Billy Fox starts looking for trouble, he discovers that in Chicago, trouble's under every footstep. Home from the war, Billy Fox leaves Michigan for Chicago, hoping to find his ex-girlfriend, Rita - now another man's wife. Chicago isn't a town that takes kindly to strangers, and Billy finds himself barely scraping by, working odd jobs and living in squalor among convicts. A chance encounter lands him a job with Harry Strummer, the streetwise owner of the Peerless Detective Agency.

When Harris starts to investigate the disappearance of a young boy 20 years ago, he thinks that it’s going to be a sad but open-and-shut case. But then, he starts to discover signs that this wasn’t an isolated incident, that multiple boys were taken over the years, and that there might still be danger in the present day. His new independence gives Harris purpose and motivation, but without the police department behind him, and perhaps even against him, will he be able to close this case and prevent the past from becoming the present once again?

Al Harris is not, and was not ever, an art connoisseur. But when a desperate young Jewish woman comes to him, convinced that her family’s stolen art is hidden somewhere in Woodlawn, Al is persuaded to take the case, as unlikely as it is that priceless European art has ended up in this small town.

Private investigator Nick Lupin finds himself immersed in the murky depths of the Louisiana bayou as he uncovers a sinister cult lurking in the shadows. Tasked with unraveling the mysteries of the swamps, Nick navigates treacherous terrain and confronts ancient rituals as he races against time to thwart the cult's dark agenda. With danger lurking around every corner and the bayou's secrets threatening to consume him, Nick must rely on his wits and determination to survive in a world where darkness reigns supreme.

Sebastian Westfield, the grandson of Connor Westfield, is living life in style with the hefty allowance given to him monthly by his grandfather. The problem is, one night started like all the rest, with his arrival at Sid’s Cabaret in Portland, the home of famed theater star Valentina Clemente. When the evening first started, he could remember everything. However, the next instant, his mind goes blank. He can’t remember what happened the rest of the night.

There was only one case out of hundreds of cold cases that Vincent James Gideon never wholly solved, Rosenthall. If that should happen in Volume 2 of the Case of the Ace of Spades, his son could walk down that lonely hallway to the electric chair. Watching her take a sip, it took the assassin every urge not to swat the glass away, but he knew it was the only way to save his life. He stared at the beautiful woman and wondered how long it would take to go into effect.

In the stack of envelopes on top of Gideon's desk, one was curiously unlabeled, the same as any random piece of junk. He slid it open nonetheless. All the envelope contained was a simple leaf...dark green with serrated edges, finely divided and lacy. It was almost triangular, broad at the base with the tip tapering to an almost point. No sooner did he lay the envelope down on his desk, his phone rang. It was the Chief of Police requesting his service on another case.

August Chase is an ordinary man plagued by extraordinary precognitive dreams. When he foresees the brutal murder of a young woman, he tracks her down to warn her. His warnings go unheeded, and the dreamed murder becomes a reality. The victim’s sister, frustrated by slow police work, enlists August’s help, and he is launched into his first case as a private investigator.

When Howie Cummins, Mick Brunner, and Adam Trexler open the MAC detective agency, they are determined to handle any case that comes their way. When their first customer comes through the door requesting they find her lost cat, the three young men initially feel that they could be investigating more important things. Little do they realize they are about to be thrown into a world filled with missing persons, lying relatives, theft, deceit, and a possible satanic cult.

Ex-con Bart Hodgkins is abducting women at random in the windy city. A man without conscience; bold and high on drugs and alcohol, he is self-assured when he manipulates girls like Chelsea Rohrman into his web of evil and certain death. His "silent partner" in subsequent serial killings is a former Cook County judge and university professor Lewis Lisecki, who is bald, unflappable, and soft-spoken.

When Dead Detective Seamus is asked to investigate the death of wealthy businessman William Dunbar, he's more than willing. Seamus finds the Afterlife pleasant but a little boring and looks forward to chances to return to Life and learn why murder victims died and who is responsible. This time there's an additional request: Will he take a detective-in-training along? Reluctantly he meets Mildred, who seems charming if a little headstrong.

The Greer Agency tells the story of Mike Greer, private eye, in 15 connected stories. Greer, the only PI in the Altoona phone book, scratches out a living in the decaying railroad town. With the help of an anonymous benefactor, Greer gets interesting cases that he solves with pluck and determination. All the while, his romance with Susan grows increasingly more intimate.

The Danube Express was once the most famous train on the continent. Linking east and west, it was the fastest route from the Alps to the Black Sea, until airplanes and automobiles made it obsolete. When a group of savvy investors revived it in the 1970s, it became an express only in name. But when a Hungarian actress disappears from the train, it turns out to be more than a publicity stunt. Soon it is clear that a killer lurks on the Danube Express, and plans on taking it all the way to the end of the line.

Fernando, an eight-year-old boy detective and his parrot Ziz travel to different countries to solve mysteries. Now, they are in Japan helping a friend to find a missing camera. Follow along and enjoy listening about their adventure as they visit exotic places searching for clues!