Bøger af Paul Toolan

Secrets. That's the trouble with secrets - they come back to bite you. Ex-Inspector 'Zig' Batten has 'gone private.' Alas, the first case of his new career drags him back to Wake Hall, the vast Somerset Estate he hoped never to see again - nor its equestrian owner, the imperious Lady Wake. She and her crew are keepers of secrets, but when Wake Hall's horses are viciously attacked, Batten is left in the dark. If horses could talk, might they speak of vengeful Olly Rutter, Batten's old Northern adversary, or demonic schemer Luka Judd? And what of the missing 'Dipstick Dave'? Worse, despite a fear of flying, Batten is dispatched to Spain - twice - in search of an absconded farrier, a money-hungry thief, and a killer-on-the-run. Struggling with a half-finished house, a new partner, and the shifting sands of old CID friendships, Batten discovers how painful secrets can be. And how dangerous.

"One of the best British murder mysteries I've read in a long time." Escape to the country? Or escape to murder? November, cider-apple time, and Inspector Zig Batten is regretting his enforced transfer from urban Yorkshire to not-so-sleepy Somerset. When hikers discover a dead body, propped against a tree on a lonely hill, Batten needs every grain of his Northern sarcasm to raise his spirits as he seeks out the killer. Is it a coincidence the victim worked on the vast private estate of Wake Hall - home of a shifty horse-sales business run by a slap-happy Northern adversary? What exactly is in the horse-boxes that trundle into Wake Hall? And does the maverick Lady Wake know - or care? Batten's delving is plagued by tensions within his new team, disappearing witnesses, self-doubt, poisoned guard dogs - and a shocking revelation. Then, as Christmas draws near, the human cost of crime begins to escalate... From the Author - A Killing Tree takes place in the real landscape of Somerset in the West Country of England - famous for its pretty villages, apple orchards and vintage cider-makers - all marred by murder. - The sequel, A January Killing, begins with a 'Wassail' - an ancient winter ceremony using music and drumming to rid the orchards of evil spirits. Shotguns are then fired into the bare branches to spark a fresh crop of apples. But one particular shotgun has far more malicious intent... - In An Easter Killing, the inhabitants of East Thorne wake on Good Friday morning to a heinous sight on Crown of Thorns Hill, which looms over the village... - When, in The Killing of Queen Mab, a convalescing Batten asks why vicious hands would slit the throat of the once-beautiful 'Queen Mab', his search for answers whisks him from Somerset to his native Yorkshire, to Cornwall and to the shores and mountains of Greece. And into danger...

"Goodness, there's some beautiful writing here!"January, white frost, a pitch-black orchard. The ancient ritual of 'Wassailing' begins with a torchlight procession. It ends with shotguns being fired into the trees, to scare off 'evil spirits' and revive the apple blossom.But not every shotgun fires blanks, and next day a dead body has blossomed in the orchard.What is the killer's motive? Why this victim? And who is sending anonymous letters to the villagers of Stockton Marsh, where Detective Inspector Batten's own Sergeant lives?Winter closes in, but murder does not stop with the dead - it tunnels into the living too, as Batten and Sergeant Ball discover. Will their own endangered lives and relationships ever be the same?As snow descends, the police make ready. Till another body is found... Editorial Review- "I've read enough books of this genre to fill a small library. I've even kept a list of my favorites. Paul Toolan's Zig Batten books just went to the top of that list."- "The mystery, while deeply involved, should be secondary to your reading of this beautifully written novel. Paul Toolan will enthrall you with this story, told through dialog and thoughts unsaid."- "Highly recommended. The best book of its genre I've read in years."- "A murder mystery ripe for a TV series - bring it on!" From the Author: The 'Killing Tree' novels can be read in series or standalone.

Crown of Thorns Hill, clad in April mist, towers above the quiet village of East Thorne.But on Good Friday, when the mist clears, the villagers wake to a malign vision at the hill's peak - a sight which catapults a flu-ridden Inspector Zig Batten from his holiday bed to a scene of desecration.Who is the victim? And what vengeful mind would dispose of a body here, like this?In his search for reasons, Batten finds himself at odds with warring churchmen, lost lovers, ranting conservationists and shady developers. Even Batten and his colleagues struggle with their own mixed motives.Do the threatened dwellings and apple-orchard of Turks Lane hold the answer? Or is it buried in the victim's past?As the Easter weekend unfolds, Batten fears the worst is still to come...