Books by Sally Spencer

Oxford, 1975. Three years ago, world-renowned anthropologist Grace Stockton was slain in a brutal, unprovoked attack which left the police baffled. But Grace's daughter refuses to accept that the trail has run cold. Determined to find out who killed her mother, she knows just the woman for the job: private investigator Jennie Redhead.

It will be no easy task to fill DCI Charlie Woodend's shoes, the newly-promoted Monika Paniatowski tells herself, but, given a little time, she thinks she can grow into them. Yet, with the discovery of a severed hand, time is the one thing she does not have. When her colleagues prove untrustworthy, the urge to call Woodend for help becomes almost irresistible . . .

The investigation into the brutal murder of a Blackpool policeman during holiday season was never going to be easy, but the case is not Woodend's only problem. His new boss, DS Ainsworth, is just waiting for an opportunity to stick a knife in his back.

The second in a new series featuring DCI Monika Paniatowski Nothing could have prepared DCI Monika Paniatowski for this. It''s not that the man''s throat has been cut, or that he is naked, that shocks her - it''s the way his corpse has been so carefully posed. Is the killer sending a message? If so, to who? Saddled with a colleague she doesn''t trust, and watched by an old enemy, Monika realises that whatever the murderer''s message is, he will not stop killing until she understands.

When Eddie Barnes, of popular group The Seagulls, is electrocuted on stage in front of 300 adoring fans, Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend can't understand why Eddie's mother says he had a girlfriend, while his best mate insists he didn't. And that's only the first anomaly in this strangest of cases.

Swann's Lake, 1960. When Robbie Peterson, a criminal-turned-club-owner, is found dead in his office, a six-inch nail driven deep into his skull, Chief Inspector Woodend and Sergeant Bob Rutter are brought up from London to investigate.

1950s Cheshire, England. When the strangled body of teenager Diane Thorburn is found buried in the salt store, Chief Inspector Charlie Woodend is pulled in from London to investigate.

Tensions are running high in the small mining village of Bellingsworth. There has been a call for further strikes, and retired miner Len Hopkins, who was known to be against a new strike, is murdered. Detective Inspector Monika Paniatowski learns that Len had been threatened the night before he died by another old miner.

"Spencer''s deft writing and skilled plotting combine with an intriguing mix of all-too-human characters and a shocker ending to make for another outstanding entry in this excellent series" - Booklist Starred Review The fourth book in the acclaimed new series featuring DCI Monika Paniatowski DCI Monika Paniatowski has a bitter personal history with Chief Superintendent Kershaw, but that is not the only reason she doesn''t want the investigation into the sudden disappearance of his wife, Elaine, landing on her desk. A young prostitute, Grace Meade, has also disappeared, and yet all resources are being channelled into Elaine''s case alone. Monika determines to spend time finding Grace, but when a heavily mutilated body is discovered on the moors, it begins to look as if she has made the wrong decision.