The girl who stopped swimming

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Emily Brightwell

When the landlord of a local pub is found stabbed in the back, Inspector Witherspoon tries to fathom the mystery from first principles. Meanwhile Mrs Jeffries and the household staff spring into action, trying to make sure that the right person is apprehended. This charming series of Victorian murder mysteries features mild-mannered Inspector Witherspoon of Scotland Yard and, more importantly, Mrs Jeffries, his housekeeper. A policeman's widow herself, her quick wits allow her to nudge the Inspector in the right direction to solve the crime.

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Linda Barnes

Agoraphobic Em Moore is the writing half of a biography team. Her partner, Teddy, does the schmoozing. When Teddy dies, Em is devastated, alone in a world she doesn't understand. The only way she can honor his memory is to finish their current book, an 'autobiography' of director Garrett Malcolm. She finds Malcolm friendlier and far sexier than she had imagined. But Em senses trouble between Malcolm and one of his former stars, and she hears whispers of skeletons in the Malcolm family closet.

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Russell Hill

In 1949, Jake Hamrick, a 19-year-old who has been obsessed since childhood with the ivory-billed woodpecker, leaves Illinois for Louisiana accompanied by Robin, his tiny girlfriend. They search in the bayous where the bird was last reported, and Robin, as obsessed as Jake, dresses like the bird, smearing her naked body with white clay, wearing a cloak of black crow feathers, her hair in a red crest. Local hunters pursue Robin and Jake deep into the bayous, where they are harbored by Robert, an ancient black man.

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Louise Phillips

When the body of popular talk show host Keith Jenkins is discovered in the icy waters of the canal during the early hours of a chilly Dublin morning, everyone wants to know why. With media attention gaining momentum by the hour, the list of potential suspects is enormous. Is the killer a crazed fan? An angry participant from Jenkins' TV show 'Real People, Real Lives'? Or a completely random vicious attack?