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By the author of McIlvanney-prize-listed Cross Purpose. "My husband is trying to kill me": a new client gets straight to the point. This is a whole new ball game for Maggie Laird, who is trying to rebuild her late husband's detective agency and clear his name. Her partner, "Big" Wilma, sees the case as a non-starter, but Maggie is drawn in. With her client's life on the line, Maggie must get to the ugly truth that lies behind Aberdeen's closed doors. But who knows what really goes on between husbands and wives? And will the agency's reputation – and Maggie and Wilma's friendship – remain intact? "Excellent ... kept me gripped!" Hearst Big Book Award judges: longlisted 2018 Crime Novel of...
'Claire MacLeary has, with little fuss or fanfare, written a crime series that subverts and rejuvenates the crime genre' Scots Whay Hae When police are called to a murder scene at the home of Aberdeen socialite Annabel Imray, they are under pressure to get a conviction, and fast. The last thing they want is the distraction of a series of baffling break-ins. The victims, all of them women, are terrorised: just how did the intruder know so much about them? Meanwhile, local PIs Maggie Laird and Wilma Harcus are at rock bottom, their bills mounting. As Maggie prepares to sell her home and contemplates dissolving the agency, Wilma goes off-piste to get a loan. But when the clock starts ticking on repayment, she realises the price is too high. And before long, Maggie herself is in grave danger. Wilma fears the worst. Can she find her before it's too late?
THE FIRST BOOK IN CLAIRE MACLEARY'S MULTI-AWARD-LISTED HARCUS & LAIRD SERIES 'Claire MacLeary has, with little fuss or fanfare, written a crime series that subverts and rejuvenates the crime genre' Scots Whay Hae Two Women, One Quest, Grave Consequences. When Maggie Laird's disgraced ex-cop husband suddenly dies, her humdrum suburban life is turned upside down. With the bills mounting, she takes on his struggling detective agency, enlisting the help of neighbour ‘Big Wilma’. And so an unlikely partnership is born. But the discovery of a crudely mutilated body soon raises the stakes... and Maggie and Wilma are drawn into an unknown world of Aberdeen's sink estates, clandestine childminding and dodgy dealers. Cross Purpose is surprising, gritty, sometimes darkly humorous – a tale combining police corruption, gangs and murder with a paean to female friendship, loyalty and how an unlikely duo can beat the odds.
THE THIRD BOOK IN CLAIRE MACLEARY'S MULTI-AWARD-LISTED HARCUS & LAIRD SERIES 'Claire MacLeary has, with little fuss or fanfare, written a crime series that subverts and rejuvenates the crime genre' Scots Whay Hae When Aberdeen housewife Debbie Milne abruptly vanishes, her husband is frantic with worry and turns to local PIs Maggie Laird and ‘Big Wilma’ Harcus. Maggie is reluctant to take on a ‘misper’ case, but Wilma cajoles her into a covert operation – trawling women’s refuges and homeless squats in search of a lead. But when a woman’s body is discovered in a skip, the unlikely investigators are dragged into a deeper mystery involving people-trafficking, gambling and prostitution – and they’re in deadly danger. With the police struggling to make headway and the clock ticking, the race is on for Harcus & Laird to find answers, further straining their already fraying relationship. Claire MacLeary fashions a surprising, gritty, fast-paced tale with the warmth and wisdom of women who are in their prime.
THE FIFTH BOOK IN CLAIRE MACLEARY'S MULTI-AWARD-LISTED HARCUS & LAIRD SERIES 'Claire MacLeary has, with little fuss or fanfare, written a crime series that subverts and rejuvenates the crime genre' Scots Whay Hae A disturbing hanging with a backstory of secrets and shaming highlights some outdated attitudes within Aberdeen’s finest. After past skirmishes with the police, local PI Maggie Laird is determined to steer clear, but her partner, Wilma Harcus, goes rogue. Not only does she have leads up her sleeve, but she has grandiose ideas to expand their PI agency into the realm of romance fraud and cybercrime. Then, troubled schoolchild Frankie Bain goes missing. As the clock runs down, the two investigations collide. Was the hanging the last, desperate act of a tortured mind or a calculated murder? And will Frankie Bain be found alive? In this fifth Harcus and Laird novel, Claire MacLeary fashions a fast-paced, fresh and topical new adventure for her inimitable PI partnership.
The stunning new thriller from No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Stuart MacBride.
Welcome to the most gripping thriller of the year: hugely entertaining, high-octane and read-in-a-single-sitting. Mind games. Murder. Mayhem. How far would you go to survive the night? Blackmail lures sixteen-year-old Ava to the derelict carnival on Portgrave Pier. She is one of ten teenagers, all with secrets they intend to protect whatever the cost. When fog and magic swallow the pier, the group find themselves cut off from the real world and from their morals. As the teenagers turn on each other, Ava will have to face up to the secret that brought her to the pier and decide how far she's willing to go to survive. For fans of Karen McManus' One of Us is Lying, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and films like I Know What You Did Last Summer.
A child’s life is at stake. Which of the residents of St Andrews is hiding something – and why? When a baby girl is snatched from the crowd of spectators at a fun run, the local police have a major investigation on their hands. DI Clare Mackay and her team are in a race against the clock when they learn that the child has a potentially fatal medical condition. As Clare investigates she realises this victim wasn’t selected at random. Someone knows who took the baby girl, and why. But will they reveal their secrets before it's too late? The second instalment from an exciting new Scottish detective series. Perfect for fans of Alex Gray, Rachel Amphlett and D. K. Hood. Readers are loving I...
From the New York Times bestselling, Edgar-Award winning author of Under the Harrow and Northern Spy, a "breathtaking" (The New York Times Book Review) page-turner inspired by a shocking true crime A better person would forgive him. A different sort of better person would have found him years ago. Nearly thirty years ago, while Claire and her brother slept upstairs, a brutal crime was committed in their grand London home. The next morning, her father's car was found abandoned, with bloodstains on the front seat. The first lord accused of murder in more than a century, he has been missing ever since. Now a doctor living under an assumed name, Claire learns the police may have found him, and her carefully calibrated existence begins to fracture. She starts to infiltrate his privileged inner circle, who have never broken their silence about what happened that night. Soon, Claire will learn how far she'll go to finally find the truth. Named a Must-Read by Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, O Magazine, BBC, CrimeReads, and PureWow