A Monika Paniatowski British police procedural On the night the Whitebridge Players staged their last ever performance, the idealistic young actors in the company resolved that twenty years on they would return to the same theatre and stage the same play. But two decades later, old resentments have grown and new jealousies have germinated, and it is a very different company that returns to re-enact the Spanish Tragedy. The cast members all have their axes to grind - and some have clear targets for those axes . . . It is in this world - where normal rules and standards have no meaning - that DCI Monika Paniatowski finds herself, once a tragedy within the Tragedy has occurred. But how can she uncover the killer's motive when everyone seemed to want the victim dead? And how can she decide who is telling the truth - when all these people lie for a living?

With the help of Paco Ruiz - a former policeman, living in disgrace since the Spanish Civil War - Woodend embarks on an unofficial investigation which provides more questions than answers. Why was the dead man travelling under a false passport? Who are the men he was seen to associate with, but now deny all knowledge of him? Why does the local police chief seem determined to lead him up a blind alley? And, who is responsible for the three more deaths which quickly follow on from the first? It soon becomes plain to Woodend that the roots of the case stretch back thirty years - and that if he is ever to solve it, he must confront history itself.

A man and a young woman are found blasted away by a rifle in a remote farmhouse on the Yorkshire moors. But where is the farmer, why did he have such swanky furniture in his living room, and who on earth are the victims? Charlie Woodend isn't amused with the people who are getting under his feet as he starts to grapple with these questions, but his steps are abruptly halted when the Deputy Chief Constable decides that, this time, Woodend's high-handedness has gone too far. Woodend may have been suspended but his sense of justice can't let go. And it won't let go however much resistance he encounters and from whom. But as Woodend is depressed to discover, when the people who are determined to keep you down are all-powerful, sheer will-power just isn't enough.

The latest DCI Woodend mystery. Captain Robert Kineally disappeared from Haverton American Army base in Devon in 1944. Twenty years later, a body is found. Woodend knew and liked Kineally. He knew, and heartily disliked, Douglas Coutes, the man accused of killing him. With the British determined Woodend should exonerate Coutes and the Americans set on proving his guilt, Woodend must face his past mistakes if he is to have a shot at the truth.From BooklistStarred Review Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend's latest case takes him back to World War II, when he was dogsbody for a particularly unpleasant officer, Douglas Coutes. Decades later, Coutes is a government minister, and Charlie is a chief inspector. But their paths never cross until Coutes calls Charlie to say he's been accused of murder and to ask for Charlie's help. The case is complicated by the fact that the murder took place in 1944; a further twist is that the victim was the brother of an influential American politician. The U.S. flies in an FBI team to "assist" on the case, and they're quick to poke fun at Charlie's plodding technique. But the FBI seems exceptionally eager to close the case, and when they confirm Coutes' innocence in a few days with little evidence, Charlie smells a rat. This is an outstanding British police procedural, and it may just be the best yet in this popular and inventive series. Don't forget Woodend when you're compiling those lists of best British coppers: he belongs in the same league with Rebus, Resnick, Harpur and Iles, Morse, et al. 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.

To be Witch Makers in the moorland village of Hallerton is both a great honour and a heavy burden. But this Witch Maker never lives to witness his moment of triumph and is discovered tied to the Witching Post early one morning with a length of twine wrapped tightly around his neck. Will DCI Charlie Woodend solve this mystery...

When Terry Pugh's headless body is found floating in the canal, DCI Woodend at first believes that Pugh had merely miscalculated the amount of rope he needed to hang himself. But why would Pugh commit suicide when he had a loving wife who was expecting their first baby, and was just about to start an exciting new job? Other disturbing questions soon follow in the first body's wake. Who was the mysterious stranger Pugh was seen with, just before he died? What is the connection between him and the down-and-out who suffers a similar fate to his only twenty-four hours later? And how many more men are intended to die? As the investigation proceeds, Woodend and his team come to realize that the key to solving the crimes is hidden in the past - and on an island far, far away.From BooklistChief Inspector Charlie Woodend's latest case begins when a gruesome discovery is made: a decapitated body hanging from a local bridge. When the victim's head is eventually found, further investigation reveals he was dead before his hanging. When a second body is found hanging from a crane at a local building site, Woodend fears a serial killer is on the loose. After days of evaluating evidence and following up leads, Woodend and his team learn that the murders are connected to a tragedy dating back seven years and involving the British army, several local men, and a Greek Cypriot. Well-developed characters, a touch of wry humor, deft writing, and plenty of unexpected twists make Spencer's Charlie Woodend series a top-notch British police procedural that belongs in all mystery collections worth their salt. 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.

The new Inspector Sam Blackstone mystery . . . - August, 1900. William Holt, a reclusive millionaire businessman, has been kidnapped from his grand Coney Island home after the brutal murder of his two bodyguards. Soon, a huge ransom is demanded, and the victim's two sons are given just days to find the money. Inspector Sam Blackstone, now seconded to the New York Police Department, and his partner, Alex Meade, are charged with solving the case, but they'll need to keep their wits about them if they are to solve it in time . . .

The investigation into the brutal murder of a Blackpool policeman during holiday season was never going to be easy, but the case is not Woodend's only problem. His new boss, DS Ainsworth, is just waiting for an opportunity to stick a knife in his back; and his invaluable assistant, Bob Rutter, has been replaced by a new sergeant more intent on advancing her own career than helping him. Then, it appears, the Blackpool police seem to think it might be better if the killer were never found...

Angela Jackson, a young girl abducted from Whitebridge Corporation Park, has been missing for over twenty-four hours and, in the opinion of Dr Stevenson, the psychiatrist who Woodend turns to for advice, her kidnapper will first torture and then kill her. Woodend is aware of the damaging strains operating within his own team. Inspector Bob Rutter seems unable to control his infatuation with the unscrupulous journalist, Elizabeth Driver, while Sergeant Monika Paniatowski, is rapidly developing a deep affection for Rutter's small daughter, Louisa. And, Woodend's old enemy, Chief Constable Marlowe, is hovering in the background like a malevolent bird of prey, just waiting for the chief inspector to make a mistake. The more the investigation proceeds, the less Woodend can see any signs of hope. And he knows - deep within himself - that he will fail in bringing Angela back alive.About the AuthorSpencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran.

A small mining village is rocked by a shocking murder in the latest Monika Paniatowski mystery...Tensions are running high in the small mining village of Bellingsworth. There has been a call for further strikes, and retired miner Len Hopkins, who was known to be against a new strike, is murdered. Detective Inspector Monika Paniatowski learns that Len had been threatened the night before he died by another old miner. Was he killed due to the stand he took against further strikes? Or are there more sinister forces at work? Paniatowski investigates, but finds that she has problems much closer to home...