Dandy Gilver and the proper treatment of bloodstains

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M.C. Beaton

The vicar of a nearby village persuades Agatha Raisin to help publicise a church fête. Agatha brings out the crowds for the fête, but there's more going on than innocent village fun. Several of the offerings in the jam-tasting booth turn out to be poisoned, and the festive family event becomes the scene of two murders. Along with her young and (much to her dismay) pretty sidekick, Toni, Agatha must uncover the truth behind the jam tampering, keep the church funds safe from theft, and expose the nasty secrets lurking in the village - all while falling for handsome George Selby, who may have secrets of his own.

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Cath Staincliffe

She's a single parent. A private eye. And loving it. Until, that is, Mrs Hobbs turns up asking Sal Kilkenny to find her missing son. Sal's search takes her through the Manchester underworld, a wasteland of deprivation and petty theft, of well-heeled organised crime and, ultimately, murder. Would she have taken the job if she had known what she was getting herself into? Actually, yes. Sal is on fire with a desire to see justice done and to avenge the death of a young lad whose only crime was knowing too much ...

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Tom Sharpe

Wilt is given to elaborate and vindictive fantasies about his wife, the massive, domineering Eva. But when Eva becomes a Missing Person, following an embarrassing incident at a party they both attend, the police want to question Wilt.

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Ruth Rendell

Chief Inspector Wexford visits China and while an old woman with bound feet haunts him, a man is tragically drowned. Back in England he investigates the murder of one of his fellow tourists and finds himself locked in a mystery that leads back to the East. From the author of "Going Wrong".