An enthralling anthology of 19 CWA Dagger Award-shortlisted gripping and thrilling stories for the most hardened crime fan.Featuring bestselling authors such as Ann Cleeves, Christopher Fowler and Val McDermid.NINETEEN CWA DAGGER AWARD-WINNING SHORT STORIES FROM THE BEST OF THE BEST IN CRIME FICTIONLegendary editor, Maxim Jakubowski, delivers another chilling anthology collecting stories of cold-blooded murder, revenge and crimes-go...

How Weak Leadership Brought Crises to the Global CommunityHow did we ever reach the point of nearly 900,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US, 5.5 million worldwide and a climate crisis that now affects 85% of the global population, yet goes largely unchallenged?The pandemic and climate crises are only part of a network of crises that coalesced about 50 years ago with roots going back 400 years. This network seems to have agency, a life of its own, travelling to wh...

This collection addresses "social murder" and "crimes against humanity." It is also about dehumanization-the mental loophole that enables us to ignore or harm others. I have appended the subtitle "July 4, 2026" to an already evocative title to underscore a grim reality: as Americans prepare for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, they are sleepwalking through full-blown state oppression and authoritarianism.In 2025, President Trump "flooded the zone" with orde...

The Commonwealth Games have come to Manchester and the city is buzzing. Caught in the commercial feeding frenzy is Tom Benwell, an advertising executive. But the pressure is getting to Tom - too many deals to make and lies to tell. Meanwhile his friend, DI Jon Spicer, is on the fast track, showing a love for the job that borders on obsession. Then, in the aftermath of the Games, a string of brutal murders shatters the city's new-found spirit. Spicer gets the case. Each victim has been murd...

Introducing feisty Detective Constable Iona Khan Scratch Deeper is the first in a thrilling new crime series.In Mauritius, a retired Law Lord is brutally murdered, while in Manchester, the Labour Party conference is beginning. DC Iona Khan's first case in the Counter Terrorism Unit appears to be a trivial use of false identity involving a foreign student who's been asking questions about Manchester's mysterious tunnel system. But when she learns the identity of the conference's gue...

Laura and Owen buy a secluded cottage on the edge of the Peak District. Old mines riddle the hills surrounding their new home and soon after moving in, Laura starts to hear faint snatches of birdsong. Her husband, wrapped up in his new job, is rarely around. Nervous and alone, Laura fears she’s developing tinnitus. Her doctor can find nothing wrong. Then an archaeological dig on a neighbouring hill unearths some disturbing finds… and Laura’s life starts to become terrifying.

It starts with the death of a teenage runaway, killed when she leaps from a motorway bridge into the speeding traffic below. The girl’s identity remains a mystery – until the discovery of the dead girl’s details matches the profiles of three other girls; all recently have been reported missing. A further shocking discovery causes the whole file to be handed over to Greater Manchester Police’s Counter Terrorism Unit, with leading detective constable Iona Khan in charge.

Out walking with his family in the local park, Jon Spicer’s life is shattered forever. The dog – aggressive and huge - appears from nowhere. At first, Jon assumes the attack was random. Soon, other events force him to think again. With his family under threat, Jon can do only one thing: fight back. The pursuit leads him to a remote Irish village where his family are originally from...

An enthralling anthology of 20 CWA Dagger Award-shortlisted gripping and thrilling stories for the most hardened crime fan.Featuring bestselling authors such as Neil Gaiman, Ann Cleeves, Christopher Fowler and Val McDermid.OVER TWENTY CWA DAGGER AWARD-WINNING SHORT STORIES FROM THE BEST OF THE BEST IN CRIME FICTIONLegendary editor, Maxim Jakubowski, delivers another chilling anthology collecting stories of cold-blooded murder, revenge and crimes-gone-wrong from the ...

Shifting Skin - Killing them wasn't enough...'The Butcher of Belle Vue' has struck again. Like the first two victims, the third has been partially skinned and dumped on waste ground. Only this time, her face has also been removed. Jon Spicer and his new partner, Rick Saville, are approached by a woman who insists she heard 'The Butcher' claiming his latest victim in the next-door room of a run-down hotel in Belle Vue. But all she has to back up her story is an escort’s business car...

Savage Moon: Some won't see the morning...The body of a woman with her throat ripped out is found on Saddleworth Moor, near Manchester. She is discovered in an area where sightings of a large black cat have been made. When analysis shows that hairs caught under the victim's nails are those of a panther, it’s assumed the animal has killed its first human prey. Then a man DI Jon Spicer is investigating is murdered in exactly the same way. Only this time the body is found in a seclude...

'We've got to go. Now.' It's early morning and Danny's mother is at his bedside, urging him to get up. They're on the run from Chris, his mother's boyfriend, a violent man who beats them both up, and won't let them go.Chris pursues Danny and his mother from London to the north, where they take refuge with Danny's grandparents. But even there, nothing is safe. Danny is conspicuous as the only mixed-race boy in their small community, and with the ever-present threat of discovery, he ...