The body of a young man fished out of the Thames is of little interest to Londoners caught up in the excitement of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Yet to Inspector Sam Blackstone, the case is as puzzling as any he has ever come across. Why should a corpse dressed the in rags of a commoner have the face of a gentleman? And if this man does belong to noble stock, why has no one come forward to claim the body? As his investigation proceeds, Blackstone finds himself entering the world of the aristocracy—in which the presence of an ordinary policeman is far from welcome—and tramping the dangerous streets of London's Little Russia—where English law and order are not welcome. Death seems to stalk him, and as each new clue leads to nothing more than a new murder, Blackstone comes to realize that he is caught up in what may turn out to be the most horrendous crime of the century… Blackstone and the Rendezvous with Death is an expertly plotted Victorian mystery that will keep readers guessing to the last page. Praise for Sally Spencer: “Spencer's finest hour: a tightly plotted puzzler with surprises at every turn” Kirkus Reviews “Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight” Publishers Weekly “Characters are diverse, intriguing, and believable . . . plots never fail to surprise; and the procedural details are grittily realistic” Kirkus Reviews Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now. **About the Author Spencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran. Fans of Alan Rustage's Woodend books will find in this brand new series the same ingenious plotting and entertaining turn of phrase. But this time the sharp eye for period detail turns to Victorian London - and a hero who is undeniably a little more of a daredevil.

The night after the mysterious appearance of the legendary Dark Lady on the road outside Westbury Park, a German efficiency expert, Gerhard Schultz, is found battered to death in the woods and Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend is faced with his most puzzling case yet. Why did Schultz seem so frightened when on his colleagues mentioned the legend of the Dark Lady? Did the workers at the BCI chemical factory—many of whom are known to hate the Germans—have anything to do with his death? How could Fred Foley, the tramp whose bloodstained overcoat was found close to the scene of the crime, have completely disappeared? And is this murder connected with one which occurred in Liverpool nearly twenty years earlier?

Monika Paniatowski's boss is trying to destroy her career, but the dead end case he assigns her turns out to be something else entirely . . .DCI Monika Paniatowski recognises her latest assignment as advisor to the Earl of Ridley's rock festival for what it really is – an attempt by the chief constable to destroy her career. Yet it soon becomes apparent that matters are not as simple as they appear. Why, for instance, did the earl choose to employ the notorious Devil's Disciples motorcycle gang to provide the security for the festival? And to what lengths will his mother, the dowager countess, go to destroy it? But it is when the half-naked body of a tabloid journalist is discovered in the middle of Whitebridge that things really start to hot up.

A gripping novel of domestic suspense - Shelby Sloan, a successful Philadelphia businesswoman in her early forties, has one child, a daughter whom she raised on her own. She gives her daughter, Chloe, and son-in-law, Rob, a Caribbean cruise as a gift, while she takes the opportunity to mind her four-year-old grandson. But life becomes a nightmare when Rob calls to tell her that Chloe has disappeared overboard. The police decide it was an accident, but Shelby refuses to accept the official verdict . . .

With the newspapers screaming for a quick solution, this is a case no one wants to touch—so naturally it is Chief Inspector Woodend who finds himself left holding the baby. With his usual panache, Cloggin'-it Charlie quickly immerses himself of the world of television, meeting people he has previously only seen as characters on the screen, learning that while there may be honour among thieves there does not seem to be much on the set of Maddox Row. The question, it soon becomes apparent, is not who wanted to kill Valerie Farnsworth, but who didn't. And will the murderer stop at only one victim? There are those in the know who are convinced that he won't.

Never before has DCI Woodend had to work under such terrible and terrifying pressure. He has just a few days, at the most, to find a flaw in the weighty evidence which led to Judith Maitland's conviction as a stone-cold killer- a few days to produce the real murderer. But what if Judith really is guilty as charged? What if she did, in fact, brutally butcher her lover, Clive Burroughs, in his own office, as the facts seem to suggest.From BooklistStarred Review DCI Woodend normally handles murders, so when his boss sends him to Cotton Credit Bank to handle a hostage situation, the constable is puzzled. Arriving on the scene, he learns that three masked men have taken several dozen bank customers hostage; that the police have sent in marksmen in case the situation escalates; and that the main hostage taker has requested Woodend as the only copper with whom he'll negotiate. Entering the bank, Woodend confronts the masked man, who informs him that the hostages will be released if Woodend proves the innocence of Judith Maitland, who has been jailed for 25 years after being convicted of killing her lover; if Woodend hasn't proved Judith's innocence in three days, the hostages will die. With no knowledge of the case and under intense pressure, Woodend, with trusted sidekick Monika Paniatowski, sifts through clues, searching for any evidence that could prove Maitland's innocence. Spencer continues to display her mastery of the British procedural, and this one, with its tense, twisted plot, surprising conclusion, and well-drawn characters, is one of her best yet. Emily MeltonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedAbout the AuthorSpencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran.

A charred body is discovered in an abandoned cotton mill, and the crime scene presents DCI Woodend and his team with many questions, but very few answers.Who would want to murder a harmless old tramp, a man with no friends - or enemies - in the world? And why, of all the methods he could have chosen, did the killer decide to cruelly burn his victim to death?As Woodend attempts to solve a murder with no clues, he must also battle against a police authority which is attempting to block him at every turn. And though he does not know it, worse is to follow, because Elizabeth Driver, Inspector Bob Rutter's lover, has almost finished the book which could destroy both his career and everything he has ever worked for.From BooklistStarred Review Spencer offers up another intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable puzzler in her popular DCI Charlie Woodend series. When a local vagrant is burned to death by a sadistic killer, Woodend and his team are charged with discovering whodunit. But Woodend’s boss is reluctant to provide the extra personnel necessary to work the case; Woodend finds himself going head-to-head with a powerful local politician; his once close-knit team of coppers is argumentative and jealous; and journalist Elizabeth Driver is out to prove that the local police are incompetent and that Woodend is the worst of the lot. As usual, Woodend has his eye on the prize and doesn’t care whom he offends or upsets as long as he finds the killer. This is a cracking good series, with this latest entry quite possibly being the best yet (in large part because it contains a shocking ending as unthinkable as it is unexpected). Spencer perfectly captures the sometimes dull routine of police work while offering up strong but flawed characters and engaging plots that always hold together without calling attention to their infrastructure. --Emily Melton About the AuthorSpencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran.

"You should have worked out by now that nobody wants this case solved!" These words, delivered by Eddie, a Liverpool thug brought down to London especially to put the frighteners on him, send a shiver down newly-promoted DS Charlie Woodend's spine. Because Eddie is right. Nobody does seem interested in bringing the killer of sixteen-year-old Pearl Jones to justice. Not DCI Bentley, Woodend's immediate boss. Not Deputy Commissioner Naylor, whose word is law in Scotland Yard. Not even the dead girl's mother herself.But Woodend cares. Working alone - sifting through the rubble of bombed-out post-war London and building up a picture of a life cut short - he is assailed by a growing anger and a deepening sorrow. He will find the murderer, he promises himself, even if that means putting his career - and perhaps even his own life - on the line.From BooklistIt’s 1973, and DCI Charlie Woodend is due to retire, with his long-time colleague Monika Paniatowski set to take over his job. As they drink a last pint before Woodend leaves for good, he agrees to tell Monika about his first case, the one that made him sure he wanted to be a copper. Twenty years earlier, when Woodend was a new police recruit, he was called out to investigate the brutal murder of a black teenager. Appalled by the cruelty of the crime, Woodend vows to find the girl’s killer. But because she was “just a little colored girl” (this was, after all, 1950), his superiors rule the case low priority and seem unusually upset when Woodend decides to investigate on his own. As always, Spencer offers up a clever plot, highly skilled writing, deft touches of ironic humor, and consummate characterizations, resulting in another fine entry in this strong procedural series. --Emily Melton Review"Retiring Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend (Dying Fall, 2008, etc.) reminisces about his first case: the murder of a black teenager that no one wanted solved. As they wait in the buffet of the Whitebridge railway station for the train that will take him on the first leg of his journey to retirement in Spain, Woodend tells his protégée Monika Paniatowski about the first case he solved in London. When they demob at the end of World War II, his commanding officer, Major Cathcart, recommends the young sergeant to the Metropolitan Police Force. Soon, Lancaster-bred Woodend is in an office overlooking Victoria Embankment under the command of DCI Bentley. Too lazy to view a dead body, he sends Woodend to investigate the slashing of 16-year-old Pearl Jones, of African descent, who lived in downbeat Canning Town but studied at a poncy prep school thanks to a scholarship from the mysterious Meadows Trust. Everyone warns Woodend off the case, from the constable whose rude description of the body sickens him, to shady pub owner Greyhound Ron Smithers, who sends a couple of hard boys to persuade him to ease off, to the mysterious voice on the phone warning that "somefink very nasty could 'appen" if he keeps on. But keep on he does, the first step in nearly a quarter-century of flouting authority and solving crime." --Kirkus Starred Review, 15th October 2008 "Retiring Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend (Dying Fall, 2008, etc.) reminisces about his first case: the murder of a black teenager that no one wanted solved. As they wait in the buffet of the Whitebridge railway station for the train that will take him on the first leg of his journey to retirement in Spain, Woodend tells his protégée Monika Paniatowski about the first case he solved in London. When they demob at the end of World War II, his commanding officer, Major Cathcart, recommends the young sergeant to the Metropolitan Police Force. Soon, Lancaster-bred Woodend is in an office overlooking Victoria Embankment under the command of DCI Bentley. Too lazy to view a dead body, he sends Woodend to investigate the slashing of 16-year-old Pearl Jones, of African descent, who lived in downbeat Canning Town but studied at a poncy prep school thanks to a scholarship from the mysterious Meadows Trust. Everyone warns Woodend off the case, from the constable whose rude description of the body sickens him, to shady pub owner Greyhound Ron Smithers, who sends a couple of hard boys to persuade him to ease off, to the mysterious voice on the phone warning that "somefink very nasty could 'appen" if he keeps on. But keep on he does, the first step in nearly a quarter-century of flouting authority and solving crime." --Kirkus Starred Review, 15th October 2008

December, 1916. Inspector Sam Blackstone is suspicious when he is called to the office of Superintendent Brigham - the new head of special branch - and confused that Brigham seems to want to see him as little as Sam himself wishes to be there. An already stranger situation grows more strange when Sam discovers what he's there for: a German traitor wants GBP25,000 in exchange for secret intelligence on U-boat locations, and 'Max' has specifically asked for Blackstone to be the one to deliver the money - alone. Blackstone, and his sergeant, Archie Patterson, are certain there's more to it than that, but Blackstone can't turn down the job - if he doesn't do it, some other poor fool will have to. But that is little comfort when, as suspected, it all goes wrong, and Blackstone finds himself on the run from his own colleagues, with Patterson languishing in a cell, looking at a twenty year stretch, if he's lucky...A chance meeting with a Russian former colleague seems to provide a lifeline, but his help comes at a cost...

When Robbie Peterson, a criminal-turned-club-owner, is found dead in his office, a six-inch nail driven deep into his skull, Woodend and Sergeant Bob Rutter are brought up from London to investigate. Why was Robbie's office broken into twice on the day of his funeral? What caused Robbie's son-in-law to attack his own brother on the night of the murder? As the case unfolds, Woodend uncovers several crimes, but it is only as it draws to a close that he realizes the murder has nothing to do with Robbie's criminal past—and everything to do with his domestic present.

The new Inspector Sam Blackstone mystery - July 1900: Sam Blackstone has gone to New York to pick up a prisoner, but he soon finds himself drafted in to investigate the murder of Inspector O'Brien who is famed for rooting out police corruption. Working with an enthusiastic young detective who worshipped O'Brien, Blackstone scours the city in search of the killer. And the more he searches, the more he becomes convinced that the police department doesnt really want the murder to be solved.

Private investigator Jennie Redhead finds her loyalties divided when she investigates the decades-old murder of a college student. Oxford, 1974. In the cellars beneath St Luke's College, a sealed medieval ventilation shaft is opened up to reveal human bones. Two bodies, buried thirty years apart, but is there a connection ... Desperate to protect the College's reputation - and finances - the bursar, Charlie Swift, hires his old friend, private investigator Jennie Redhead, to find out the identities of the two victims. But as Jennie pieces the clues together, it becomes increasingly clear that Charlie knows rather more about the murders than he's admitted. As she uncovers a series of scandals stretching back more than sixty years, Jennie is forced to question how well she really knows her old friend Charlie Swift - and whether she can trust him...