Latest news 2024-10-15: New blog post: Tales for Our Times Book Launch.

Crime genre

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[book image] The Fourth Protectorate. Alternative history set in 1980s/90s London. Pending.
In an alternate 1984, the Brighton bomb kills the entire British Cabinet, triggering a spate of increasingly draconian laws that lead to a return of a Cromwell-style Protectorate. Amid mounting civil disturbances, Mark Barton’s sole ambition is to bring down London crime lord Raymond Brown (‘Mr Ray’) following the murder of Mark’s parents by Mr Ray’s protection racket. Mark’s actions unwittingly allow the newly emerging Protectorate to firmly establish itself as a police state, and he becomes a tool of the new propaganda department. Can he undo the damage done and restore democracy?

[book image] Smile for the Camera. A cybercrime short story. In print. Availability: Ebook US$0.99 (available from Smashwords and other ebook retailers).
Evelyn, a CCTV operator, sees too much information while she monitors a store’s self-service checkout tills in this cybercrime short story about identity theft.

This ebook short story has been reprinted in the paperback anthology Tales for Our Times.

[book image] Unsocial Media. Cybercrime short story. In print. Availability: Ebook US$0.99 (available from Smashwords and other ebook retailers).
A cybercrime short story cautionary tale about the dangers of sharing too much information. Greg has unwisely accepted a friend request from “Natalie”, a stranger who starts to stalk him after failing to hook him in a scam. The stalking moves from the digital world to real life when Natalie shares a photo of Greg with his neighbour Susie, in what looks like a compromising position. Unknown to any of them, Greg’s wife (the unnamed narrator) has a secret life of her own and is doggedly following Natalie’s trail.

[book image] The Briefcase. Convinced that his secretive wife is cheating on him, Aide investigates with an attractive young goth he meets at the pub. In print. Availability: Ebook US$0.99 (available from Smashwords and other ebook retailers).
Convinced that his secretive wife, Annie, is cheating on him, Aide meets an attractive young goth at the pub who helps him pick the lock of Annie's briefcase to search for incriminating evidence.

This ebook short story has been reprinted in the paperback anthology Tales for Our Times.

[book image] I’ve Heard the Mermaid Sing. 1920s crime fiction short story. In print. Availability: Ebook US$0.99 (available from Smashwords and other ebook retailers).
It’s 1928 and Albert Sternheimer, a yegg (jewel thief) from St Louis, is travelling on the RMS Aquitania with a case of stolen jewels, but unknown to him there's someone else on board with an interest in him and the contents of his case.

[book image] The Private Enemy. Crime/SF novel set in future East Anglia. In print. Availability: Paperback £11.99 (in store). Ebook US$3.99 (available from Smashwords and other ebook retailers).
In the Fenland area of Norfolk, the last Earl of Wynherne is found dead on the study floor of his Gothic mansion. His daughter is missing, having run off after stabbing the seemingly respectable Mr Allerton in the leg. Detective Inspector Charles Hadley and his partner Detective Sergeant Sarah Fenning are called in to investigate, but in this retro world of gangsters and corrupt city police a wrong move could destroy the fragile alliances and trigger war after thirty years of uneasy peace. This novel is set in a future where the Anti-Technology League collide with demands to restore former levels of technology, rival gangsters battle for dominance, and government agencies are determined to reinforce their message that the world is united in peace and prosperity — by any means necessary. Into this mix comes the last of the Coulgranes of Wynherne, hell-bent on revenge.