Detective Jason Smith

Phobia is a series of five DS Jason Smith cases he worked on before we met him in the first book, Smith. We get insights into what molded him into the detective sergeant we first get a glimpse of in Smith. Smith quickly realizes that police work isn't always cut and dry. Justice is not always black and white; there are many shades of gray in between.

It is Christmas Day in York. A woman is found dead in her bed. A suicide note is found on her chest. It reads "I am so sorry Martin". Hours later, the police are called to a house a few miles away. A mother and her daughter have been brutally attacked; the mother is dead and the daughter is barely alive. The father is found shaking uncontrollably in the corner of the room. He is covered in blood but he is unharmed. His name is Martin Willow

A man is killing people in York. Initially the murders appear to be the random acts of a maniac. Detective Jason Smith is put in charge of the investigation. It soon becomes clear that the murders are all connected to him in one way or another. All of the killings correspond to events in Smith's life and the murderer leaves dates at the crime scene which tie up to important dates in Smith's history. When one of the dates is a time before Smith was even born, he realizes he must look deep into the past.

Detective Sergeant Jason Smith is days away from the end of his sick leave after a case that almost cost him his life when he gets a call from an old friend. His friend has been arrested for the murder of a student. He wants Smith to investigate the murder and prove his innocence. Smith is persuaded return to work. The student was killed with a bread knife. Ladybirds were scattered on his dead body.

A football player is shot dead in front of a packed crowd of people. DS Jason Smith is put in charge of the investigation. The murder weapon is found in a house across the road from the football ground. It is a rare Russian army issue sniper rifle. As the investigation hits dead end after dead end, two government agents arrive and take over, pushing Smith and his colleagues to the side.

The circus comes to town and children start to disappear. Detective Sergeant Jason Smith is persuaded to return to work after three weeks of a marijuana induced haze. Forced to endure the leadership of a new DI, the fulsome Bryony Brownhill, Smith is faced with the most difficult investigation of his colorful career.

When a man is found tucked up in bed with his throat sliced open two days after Christmas, DS Jason Smith and his team are baffled. It appears he has been drugged, killed, and carefully wrapped up in a duvet. The only evidence Smith finds are some strands of hair belonging to a woman. One month later, another man is killed in exactly the same manner but there appears to be no link whatsoever to the two men apart from the fact that they were both single, lonely, and middle-aged.

DS Jason Smith sets off for the peaceful Yorkshire village of Scarpdale for two weeks of country air, slow walks by the lakes, and no mobile phone reception. He wakes up on his first morning to find three policemen outside his room. A young woman has been found dead next to one of the lakes. The woman is Sophie Phoenix, the youngest daughter of Jimmy Phoenix. Ill-equipped to deal with such a serious crime, the local police make no headway, and Smith is begged by Jimmy Phoenix to find out what happened to his daughter.

DS Jason Smith is dragged away from paternity leave when a woman is killed with her baby in the next room. When more women with children are brutally murdered, Smith discovers they all have something in common - they all share a secret. When he finds out the mother of his own child is on this list of "Unworthy" women, he finds himself in a race against time to stop the killer before his whole world comes crashing down around him.

A student who hasn’t been seen for a while is found dead in her room. Her throat has been cut, but it turns out that is not the cause of death! The postmortem reveals that she had been drained of all her blood. The killer has left behind no evidence, and there are no clues. Is there a vampire loose in York? Then another body is found, and Smith and the team are struggling to find a link or a motive. Will this be the case that defeats the brilliant DS Smith? How much more heartache can Jason Smith bear? Severed will take him to hell and back.

In Trotterdown, Cornwall, a boat, The Enigma, washes in to the harbour. The skipper is dead, and Harriet Taylor is brought in to investigate. But one dead body is not the only crime the team have to deal with. Meanwhile, further up the coast in Whitby, a boat washes up on the rocks just outside the harbour. Everyone on board is dead. Whitby Police are out of their depth, so DS Jason Smith is called in to help. It soon becomes clear the cases are connected and the teams from York and Trotterdown settle down to work with each other. 

When a man is shot dead in a park not far from where Detective Jason Smith lives, Smith takes it personally. The man was killed in a precise and cold manner. Then, when another victim turns up - also killed with absolute precision, Smith realizes he's on the trail of a killer who will stop at nothing. Fighting against his team, Smith will have to dig harder than he's ever dug before to stop the worst killer York has ever seen. 

In the week before Christmas, two people are brutally murdered in their homes. There is no sign of a struggle, and both victims have had their throats slashed open. Detective Jason Smith is on holiday for the Christmas period, but he finds himself in the middle of the investigation before he knows it. There are no clues left at the murder scenes besides a bizarre series of numbers and letters left in random places—E.6.T.0.M. Smith and the team are baffled. 

Detective Jason Smith is sick and tired of the English weather. It's February in York and the dark, dreary days are getting him down. When his wife, DC Erica Whitton wins a holiday to Australia, Smith is reluctant to go. He has no desire to go back home. Against his better judgement, Smith agrees to show his wife and daughter where he grew up. The perfect holiday soon turns into a nightmare as Smith finds himself in a race against time to save the only people he's ever cared about. Children in Smith's home town are being murdered. There's something rotten there.