Death at Swaythling Court

J. J. Connington

Summary

COLONEL SANDERSTEAD looked gloomily at his wrist-watch for the third time. Punctual to a second himself, he expected an equal clockwork precision from others; and even his long series of disappointments in the matter had failed to reconcile him to humanity’s slipshod methods. He gave another glance down the empty avenue which fell away from the terrace of the Manor towards the gates on the Fernhurst Parva road; then he addressed the dog at his side:
“If that young man doesn’t put in an appearance soon, old boy, we shan’t get our two rounds before lunch. I can’t think what this generation’s coming to.”
The dog, gathering from the tone of the remark that the Colonel was wounded but courageous in the face of adversity, wagged his tail mournfully through a small arc. Suddenly, however, he pricked up his ears and gave a short bark. From far down the avenue came the ascending roar of an engine; a motor-cycle, furiously driven, flashed from behind the trees at the turn, skimmed up the slope and stopped beside the terrace.

Available since: 10/11/2022.

Other books that might interest you

A Hard Death - A Novel

Jonathan Hayes

Forensic pathologist Edward Jenner survived the horrific ordeal of the Inquisitor serial slayings in New York, but not the political fallout. With his state medical license suspended, he hopes to repair his shattered life while working as a medical examiner in Douglas County, Florida. But evil is not confined to big cities alone.Two corpses pulled from a sunken car—followed by the grisly discovery of four more bodies hanging in the Everglades—are evidence of an insidious rot infecting this quiet coastal resort community. Suddenly Jenner's investigation is turning up grim traces of a nightmarish conspiracy—and with no one to trust and nowhere to turn, his only hope of survival is to walk away . . . something Jenner could never do.

Show book

The Secret of Chimneys

Agatha Christie

At the request of George Lomax, Lord Caterham reluctantly agrees to host a weekend party at his home, Chimneys. A murder occurs in the house, beginning a week of fast-paced events with police among the guests...

The Secret of Chimneys, by master-author Agatha Christie, introduces the much-loved characters of Superintendent Battle and Lady Eileen "Bundle" Brent.

Show book

Pursued

Catherine Mann

Air force captain Josie Lockworthcame from a long line ofAmerican patriots and wasexpected to follow her family'sexample. But after a goodfriend's death, the usually savvyAthena Academy graduate wasn'tperforming at her best. Still, whenthe project she'd been working on for monthscrashed and burned, she knew it wasn't due toher negligence. Someone was trying to sabotageher career. With the authorities after her head andan unsettling inspector looking over her shoulder,Josie raced to clear her name before she becamethe next casualty of war….

Show book

The Lazarus Bell – Illaun Bowe...

Patrick Dunne

A gruesome summer crimewave in the Boyne Valley complete with ritual murders and a mysterious plague-bringing Madonna – intrepid archaeologist Illaun Bowe is back in Irish king of crime Patrick Dunne's spine-tingling The Lazarus Bell!

'It's not what you think,' he rasped, his tongue dry and clicking inside his mouth. A look of fear had invaded his eyes. I came as close as I dared. His voice dropped to a barely detectable whisper. 'It's worse … far worse.'

A beautiful carved wooden Madonna, sealed tightly into a lead coffin, is discovered in a plague graveyard in the sleepy village of Castleboyne in Ireland – a fascinating but routine call-out for archaeologist Illaun Bowe.

That is, until they take the coffin out of the ground and a black liquid oozes out from the casing, accidentally spilling over one of the workers. Within 24 hours, his skin breaks out in pus-filled lesions, and his organs fail, one by one …

Soon hysteria breaks out in Castleboyne, with a quarantine imposed on the town by the Department of Health and nasty tabloid speculation that the disease has been brought to the area by the new immigrant population. Illaun has to get to the bottom of what was in the coffin to reassure herself that a deadly disease hasn't been unleashed upon the community because of her carelessness. Then a young boy is brought into the hospital, with the same symptoms as Terry …

As the summer temperatures soar, the hysteria is fuelled by the finding of a torso floating in the River Boyne, an African woman killed for ritual purposes. Meanwhile, someone is making it dangerously clear to Illaun that they want that statue …

Dive into The Lazarus Bell, another heart-stopping macabre thriller from internationally bestselling author Patrick Dunne. Full of twists, turns and uncovered conspiracies, join archaeologist Illaun Bowe in this unpredictable, atmospheric novel guaranteed to give you goosebumps.

Who knew archaeology could be so interesting – and dangerous?

Praise for Patrick Dunne

Dunne may be the next big thing in the thriller field out of Ireland.
Irish Independent

[Patrick Dunne], in his multi-layered novels, explores the darker recesses of the human psyche where his plots are powered by the mysterious and the macabre and include strange happenings in such places as 'plague pits' and cemeteries.
The Meath Chronicle

A gripping thriller
Books Ireland

… attractively-drawn heroine Illaun Bowe neatly combines archaeology, medieval history and current sociological tensions in Ireland in an absorbing read.
Irish Independent

Show book

The Pure and the Hated

Richard Godwin

A mourning father takes a troubled man into his home only to lead a deranged lunatic to his door in this noir thriller from the author of Savage Highway.   After Shepherd Butler finds Maxwell Heed freezing in the forest in Vermont, he takes him into his home with his wife, his nieces, and his sister. They instantly take to Maxwell. He’s a sincere, religious man, seeking to understand the nature of forgiveness. He feels like just another member of the family.   Then he opens up to Shepherd and his wife about the man who killed his fiancée… Temple Jones is a dangerous psychopath who preys on women. He has escaped justice, and Maxwell fears he has followed him to Vermont. Shepherd tries to ease Maxwell’s fears, but Maxwell soon vanishes…   And Temple Jones shows up….“Godwin writes intelligent noir from a unique psychological perspective, delving deep into the nobler motives and emotions of his engaging characters while examining the darkest corners of the human heart. The faceless villain in this chiller is as real as a razor cut….Before you sit down on a cool dark night to enjoy this one, make sure the doors and windows are locked.”—Phil Bowie, author of the John Hardin series

Show book

Mine

Robert McCammon

A psychopathic female fugitive provokes a mother’s vengeance in this terrifying thriller by the New York Times–bestselling author of Gone South and Boy’s Life. Back in the 1960s, Mary Terrell shot and killed a man. A former member of the fanatical Storm Front Brigade—a splinter group of the notorious Weathermen—Terrell has stayed one step ahead of the FBI for decades. Living with numerous identities and menial jobs, Terrell’s only constants in life have been LSD, psychotic delusions of motherhood, and murderous rage. The sixties are long gone, but Mary is still out there. Now, provoked by a message she reads in Rolling Stone, she’s convinced that the surviving leader of her old band of radicals wants to build a life with her. So one night, Mary sneaks into the maternity ward of an Atlanta hospital. Laura Clayborne has a successful career and now, a newborn baby. She’s the type of person who is sensitive to suffering and injustice. But the kidnapping of her infant son has brought out a white-hot fury. She’s not going to sit and wait while the FBI investigates. She’s going after Mary herself—headlong and relentless—on a twisting and violent cross-country pursuit to get her child back. But to track a madwoman, Laura will have to think like one . . . A Bram Stoker Award winner, this “expertly constructed novel of suspense and horror” (Publishers Weekly) from the author of Swan Song, Speaks the Nightbird, and other acclaimed works is “feverishly exciting . . . a page-whipping thriller” (Kirkus Reviews).

Show book