Books in the Castlemere series

Two people are hiring out their services in Castlemere - a prostitute with only hours to live, and a hired assassin with only hours to make his kill . . . When the naked body of a young prostitute is found on a narrowboat on the Castlemere Canal, police enquiries focus on the nearby Barbican Hotel. For with a sales conference in progress there's no shortage of men who could have met the girl there. But soon Superintendent Shapiro and his team have a great deal more to contend with. For the dead woman was not the only person to have hired herself out that night: a paid assassin is at large - and he is gunning for the conference organizer Philip Kendall. Jo Bannister's Castlemere novels are tough and very realistic - in the tradition of Lynda La Plante's Prime Suspect.

A town the size of Castlemere might expect to see one major fire a year. When a derelict warehouse burns down just days after a blaze destroys Rachid's Eight-Till-Late, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro is worried. Either of the fires could have been accidental, but together they suggest an arsonist at work. A third, and fatal, episode confirms it. Helped by his enigmatic Irish sergeant, Cal Donovan, Shapiro investigates, well aware that any delay in making an arrest will invite further attacks. But before much progress can be made Shapiro is relieved of duty, accused of destroying vital evidence in an earlier investigation - evidence that would have spared an innocent man an eight-year prison sentence. Shapiro's closest colleagues, Detective Inspector Liz Graham and Detective Sergeant Donovan, are incredulous: the allegation wars with everything they know about a man they have worked for and respected for years. And yet the evidence can't be ignored. Liz and Donovan must embark on a race against time to clear Shapiro's name - if they can - and to track down a pyromaniac before he brings his career to a truly horrifying climax.

Jo Bannister's gritty police novels featuring DI Liz Graham have been likened to Lynda La Plante's Prime Suspect. 'The whole bloody town's gone mad!' exclaimed Superintendent Shapiro as Castlemere reels after a forty-eight-hour crime-fest including a ram-raid, a hostage crisis, a shocking rape and more . . . Making no progress by conventional means, Detective Inspector Liz Graham and Detective Sergeant Cal Donovan go undercover in the search for leads. But neither could have imagined the frightening ordeals they are both about to endure. Ordeals that will test their courage, strength and commitment to the absolute, terrifying limit . . . 'The novel throbs with energy and the reader is absorbed from page one.' Yorkshire Evening Press 'Bannister keeps the suspense tight as a drum.' Publishers Weekly 'An example of what can be made of a traditional police investigation by a first-class writer.' Birmingham Post

When the body of teenage prostitute Charisma is discovered in the murky waters of Castle Canal, her throat cut back to the spine, Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro and Detective Inspector Liz Graham head Castlemere CID's investigation. Close to where the body was found, a travelling gospel crusade is setting up its tent. The Reverend Michael Davey's road-crew have no information to offer on the killing, but Detective Sergeant Cal Donovan is stunned to see among them a face from his childhood. Because Liam Brady is officially dead . . . Then another girl is murdered while exercising her pony in a public park. The killings have two things in common: the youth of the victims, and the profoundly vicious knife wounds. It looks as though a serial killer is on the loose and as hysteria sweeps Castlemere, Liz Graham begins to think the unthinkable . . . Could powerful, charismatic Michael Davey have brought more to the town than the promise of eternal salvation?

When Detective Chief Inspector Frank Shapiro of Castlemere CID loses his right-hand man to a hit-and-run driver he has two major problems. One is his sergeant, who won't accept it was an accident: Donovan is convinced it was ordered by local crime baron Jack Carney, and he isn't the kind of policeman to be put off by lack of evidence. The other is that someone has chosen this moment, with CID already stretched, to launch a career as a serial killer. But Shapiro finds a useful ally in the inspector sent as a temporary replacement - Liz Graham, who worked under him once before and is eager to prove herself as a senior CID officer. She's intelligent, intuitive, and ambitious; she knows she'll have to fight for acceptance in the overwhelmingly male-oriented world of criminal investigation and she won't let an angry young sergeant who resents her very presence stand in her way. With the body-count rising and no indication that the murderer will be satisfied, Castlemere CID tries desperately to unravel the strands. As Liz delves into the professional and private lives of the victims she finds a link. But the connection is so ordinary, so innocent, that she struggles to make sense of it. Will someone else die before Liz realizes that, in the desperate mind of the killer, innocence is hiding a terrible guilt? And the person whose malevolent shadow has hung over them since this began remains to be faced in a closing act of startling violence.

Castlemere is under siege. Just one man is holding the town to ransom - to the tune of one million pounds. And if this demand is not met, no one will be safe from the frightening events he has in store. With the casualty rate rising, the pressure is on Detective Superintendent Frank Shapiro to uncover the blackmailer. But this is a clever man; finding him in time may prove impossible . . . Meanwhile Detective Inspector Liz Graham's gentle art teacher husband comes under suspicion and the deserted boat belonging to her sergeant, Cal Donovan, is discovered near the tiny village of East Beckham, a flyspeck on the map where nothing and no one is quite what they seem . . . PRAISE FOR THE CASTLEMERE SERIES 'Well written, well plotted and exciting throughout.' Irish Independent 'Sensitive and intelligent writing produces a police procedural which ranks with the best of its kind . . . Highly recommended.' Yorkshire Post

It's nice to have a hobby. Detective Sergeant Donovan likes motorcycling. Mikey Dickens enjoys armed robbery. And their chance meeting in a Castlemere petrol station leads to a hot pursuit, an horrific crash and a remarkable act of heroism as Donovan pulls the teenager from the burning wreckage. The case against the young thief seems cut and dried, but the Dickens family are professional criminals and they concoct a clever defence. The tearaway, it seems, is going to walk . . . Donovan, supported by Detective Superintendent Frank Shapiro and Detective Inspector Liz Graham, is determined to prove the boy's guilt. But has he finally met his match? For as he goes after Mikey for a second time, events escalate out of his control, leaving him fighting for his reputation, his career - and even his life . . . 'A superior police procedural with a strong cast.' Guardian 'Sensitive and intelligent writing produces a police procedural which ranks with the best of its kind . . . Highly recommended.' Yorkshire Post 'Gripping and original.' The Scotsman