A classic British locked room mystery for fans of both thrillers and crime: The Man by the Sea by Jack Benton. "An absolute feast for noir and paranormal thriller fans alike. Highly recommended." ~~ bestthrillers.com John "Slim" Hardy, heavy drinker and disgraced soldier turned bumbling private detective, is hired to investigate Ted Douglas, an investment banker who slips out of work every Friday to visit a desolate cove on the Lancashire coast. There, he walks to the shore, opens an old book, and begins to read aloud. His wife thinks he's having an affair. Slim thinks he's insane. The truth is more incredible than either could imagine. The Man by the Sea is the sensational debut novel by Jack Benton, a classic story of love, betrayal, murder, and intrigue.

A classic British locked room mystery for fans of both thrillers and crime: The Games Keeper Having fallen on hard times, disgraced soldier turned private investigator John “Slim” Hardy is hired by rich and enigmatic land owner Oliver Ozgood to uncover the identity of a mysterious blackmailer. The man is demanding a fortune in exchange for his silence. He claims to be Dennis Sharp, a former employee of Ozgood, and threatens to reveal secrets that will soil Ozgood’s family name and send the patriarch to prison. There’s only one problem. Dennis Sharp is dead, killed by Ozgood himself. In search of answers, Slim moves to the remote rural hamlet of Scuttleworth in the Devonshire countryside, where he will confront demons both from within and without in his most challenging case yet. The Games Keeper is the third book in the Slim Hardy Mystery series. While the stories follow a rough sequence, they can be read in any order. Other titles available: The Man by the Sea The Clockmaker’s Secret Slow Train The Angler's Tale

A classic British locked room mystery for fans of both thrillers and crime: The Clockmaker's Secret. Currently FREE for a limited time only! A buried clock holds the key to a decades-old mystery. On holiday to escape the nightmares of his last case, disgraced soldier turned private detective John “Slim” Hardy comes upon something buried in the peat on Bodmin Moor. Unfinished and water-damaged but still ticking, the old clock provides a vital clue to an unsolved missing-persons case. As Slim begins to ask questions of the tiny Cornish village of Penleven, he is drawn into a world of lies, rumours, and secrets, some of which the residents would prefer to stay buried. Twenty-three years ago, a reclusive clockmaker left his workshop and walked out onto Bodmin Moor, taking his last, unfinished clock with him. He disappeared. Slim is determined to find out why. The Clockmaker’s Secret is the stunning sequel to Jack Benton’s acclaimed debut, The Man by the Sea. #freeebook #freemystery #classicmystery #britishmystery #privateinvestigator #lockedroom #traditionalbritish #theclockmakerssecret #doomedlove #secretsandlies

Eight Days: A thrilling British mystery from master of the genre Jack Benton and featuring private investigator John 'Slim' Hardy in an adventure with twists up to the last page. After nearly a year out of the game, former soldier turned private detective John “Slim” Hardy takes what he hopes will be an easy comeback case in the quiet Devonshire town of Launceston. The disappearance in mysterious circumstances of local schoolgirl Emily Martin left police clueless. Eight days later, her sudden reappearance left them equally baffled. Apparently unharmed, Emily claimed no memory of her period of abduction, and in time, the investigation faded. Two years later, as her relationship with her daughter falls apart, Emily’s desperate mother Gloria turns to Slim, wanting answers. Her eight days missing has changed Emily, so much so that Gloria is unsure the girl is even her daughter at all … From the author of The Man by the Sea and The Clockmaker’s Secret, comes another stunning mystery, one which will keep you guessing to the last page.

“A tense, simmering, fast-paced mystery.”—Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest and The Girl from Widow Hills The New York Times bestselling author returns with an unsettling but riveting psychological thriller about a captivating woman who joins a family and threatens to upend their picture-perfect lives. They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst? Summer’s looking forward to a break from hustling for acting work in Manhattan when she, her husband Gabe, and Gabe’s nine-year-old son arrive at the annual family get-together at her in-laws’ sprawling estate. On the agenda are leisurely gourmet meals, tennis matches, and plenty of relaxation by the pool. But this year, Gabe’s brother Nick has invited his new flame Hannah, whom Summer immediately recognizes from a few years before. Oddly, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend claims not to know her. Yet she charms the other family members, and after Nick announces that he’s proposed to Hannah, Summer doesn’t have much choice but to grin and bear it. Then the reunion is rocked by tragedy when a family member is found dead. Though the doctors attribute the loss to natural causes, a grieving Summer fears that the too-good-to-be-true Hannah is involved, even as Gabe dismisses her suspicions. How far will Summer go to expose the truth? As she investigates just what Nick’s fiancée might have done to keep her perfect image intact, she begins to fear that the first death might only be the beginning . . .

The fourteenth novel in the acclaimed and bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries. Ruth and Nelson are on the hunt for a murderer when Covid-19 rears its ugly head. But can they find the killer despite lockdown? 'GALLOWAY NOW SEEMS AS REAL AS MARPLE AND MORSE' The Times 'SET IN DIVINE NORTH NORFOLK. INTENSELY ATMOSPHERIC AND GREAT' India Knight Ruth is in London clearing out her mother's belongings when she makes a surprising discovery: a photograph of her Norfolk cottage taken before Ruth lived there. Her mother always hated the cottage, so why does she have a picture of the place? As she died three years ago, Ruth can't exactly ask her, and her father denies all knowledge of the picture. The only clue is written on the back of the photo: Dawn, 1969. Ruth returns to Norfolk determined to solve the mystery, but then Covid-19 rears its ugly head. Ruth and her daughter are locked down in their cottage, attempting to continue with work and lessons, but, in reality, becoming lonely and frustrated. Happily the house next door is rented by a nice woman called Sally, who they become friendly with while standing on their doorstep clapping for carers. Nelson, meanwhile, has no time to be bored. He's investigating a series of suicides that could be the work of a serial killer. It's only when he links them to an archaeological discovery that he thinks of Ruth. He breaks curfew to visit the cottage to find Ruth chatting to her neighbour, whom he remembers as Dawn Lancaster, a carer who was once tried for murdering her employer. When the deaths continue, Nelson vows to take Ruth and Kate to live with him. But they, and Dawn, have vanished.

Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane investigate a dead body on the beach in this “nearly perfect detective story” by the author of Busman’s Honeymoon (Saturday Review). Harriet Vane has gone on vacation to forget her recent murder trial and, more importantly, to forget the man who cleared her name—the dapper, handsome, and maddening Lord Peter Wimsey. She is alone on a beach when she spies a man lying on a rock, surf lapping at his ankles. She tries to wake him, but he doesn’t budge. His throat has been cut, and his blood has drained out onto the sand. As the tide inches forward, Harriet makes what observations she can and photographs the scene. Finally, she goes for the police, but by the time they return the body has gone. Only one person can help her discover how the poor man died at the beach: Lord Peter, the amateur sleuth who won her freedom and her heart in one fell swoop. Have His Carcase is the 8th book in the Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries, but you may enjoy the series by reading the books in any order. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.