When Sophie Sayers inherits a cottage in a sleepy English Cotswold village, she’s hoping for a quieter life than the one she's running away from. What she gets instead is a dead body on a carnival float, and an extraordinary assortment of suspects. Is the enigmatic bookseller Hector Munro all he seems? And what about the over-friendly neighbour who brings her jars of honey? Not to mention the eccentric village shopkeeper, show committee, writers' group and drama club, all suspiciously keen to welcome her to their midst. If you love M C Beaton's Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series, you'll enjoy Sophie Sayers' adventures.

A staple of television since the early years of the BBC, British crime drama first crossed the Atlantic on public broadcasting stations and specialty cable channels, and later through streaming services. Often engaging with domestic anxieties about the government's power (or lack thereof), and with larger issues of social justice like gender equality, racism, and homophobia, it has constantly evolved to reflect social and cultural changes while adapting U.S. and Nordic noir influences in a way that retains its characteristically British elements. This collection examines the continuing appeal of British crime drama from The Sweeney through Sherlock, Marcella, and Happy Valley. Individual essays focus on male melodrama, nostalgia, definitions of community, gender and LGBTQ representation, and neoliberalism. The persistence of the English murder, as each chapter of this collection reveals, points to the complexity of British crime drama's engagement with social, political, and cultural issues. It is precisely the mix of British stereotypes, coupled with a willingness to engage with broader global social and political issues, that makes British crime drama such a successful cultural export.

Gossip columnist Rick Domino finds himself the prime suspect for a murder during the Academy Awards ceremony. Rick Domino is one of the most sought after men in Hollywood but he's not an actor, director or even a film producer. He's a popular gossip columnist covering the Hollywood scene and a word from him can be very influential. Normally, Rick loves his job and the scene itself but tonight it's different. Tonight he's hosting a live telecast of the Academy Awards and his secret lover, young heart-throb Shane Kirk, is one of the nominees for Best Actor. But there has been trouble brewing between the two, not helped by the fact that publicly Shane portrays himself as "straight", even bringing an actress as a date to the awards ceremony, and Rick can hardly focus on the task at hand. The ceremony itself goes relatively smoothly until Shane actually wins the award for Best Actor and is nowhere to be found. Surprised and worried, Rick goes back stage to look for Shane and, lured by an open access door and a hunch, checks the back alley. He does indeed find Shane, but Rick also finds himself in perhaps the most deadly situation in his life. By the time the police arrive, they find Rick standing over a corpse, holding a gun and looking not-so-innocent. The truth of what happened in that dark alley, and who was responsible, is tightly intertwined with some of the darkest of Hollywood's secrets...and if anyone knows about ferreting out secrets, it's Rick Domino.

Cindy and Mattheus, still reeling from Key West, unsure where their relationship stands, prepare to take some time away from each other—when a shocking call arrives. A beautiful bride is missing, the night before her destination wedding in the magnificent Cayman Islands. The groom, the last one to see her alive during their scuba diving outing, is the prime suspect. But the groom’s family insists he is innocent, and they hire Cindy and Mattheus to find out the truth. Cindy understands the pain of an ocean accident all too well, and the case strikes uncomfortably close to home, evoking memories of Clint at every turn. Police and Coast Guard search the sea and land, but the bride, Allie is nowhere to be found. Family, wedding party and guests have all been detained at their luxury hotel to be questioned. Was it an accident? Did the bride run away? Or has someone killed her? Who could have wanted her dead? As Cindy and Mattheus investigate and interview those at the celebration, we journey into the incredible wealth and opulence of the Islands and the lifestyle of those who have come down to celebrate the wedding and vacation there. As their relationships are exposed, we see the effects of wealth, greed, and intense jealousy, and how it runs their lives. We also meet Mac, a charismatic, suave partner in the firm who develops an attachment to Cindy, and Vivien, a gorgeous guest, who no man can resist. As Vivien goes after Mattheus, and Mac pursues Cindy, we watch Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship struggle and become infected by jealousy and suspicion as well. In a shocking turn of events, Cindy finds out more about Allie than anyone knew. And as the investigation takes a deadly turn, Cindy’s life is in danger, not once but twice. Once again, we see the forces of darkness try to undermine the search for truth. Will Cindy and Mattheus untangle the web of secrets among the rich and famous before it is too late? DEATH BY JEALOUSY is both a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #6 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2) and DEATH BY MARRIAGE (Book #3), DEATH BY DESIRE (Book #4) and DEATH BY DECEIT (Book #5).

A well-known criminal lawyer is found dead in a back alley in St. Thomas, and Cindy and Mattheus are called in to investigate by the grieving widow. The local police have pinned her for the murder, and Cindy and Mattheus are her last hope in vindication. As Cindy and Mattheus dig deeper into the victims past, they learn that all was not as rosy as it seemed. They discover mistresses, gambling debts, vendettas, and a number of people who had motivation to want him dead. Most shocking of all, as they dig even deeper, they discover a whole secret life that he lead, one so lurid that the people who knew him best can hardly even conceive it. As a hurricane closes in and the police are insistent, despite all evidence, to arrest the widow, Cindy and Mattheus find themselves in a race against time to find the killer. When another body turns up, all involved realize the stakes may be even higher than they seem. And as Cindy and Mattheus develop feelings for each other, each grieving from the death of their own spouse, Cindy comes to realize there is even more at stake than she thinks. DEATH BY MARRIAGE is Book #3 in the Caribbean Murder series, following DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1) and DEATH BY DIVORCE (Book #2).

DEATH BY BETRAYAL is Book #10 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)--a FREE download on Play! Cindy and Mattheus part ways, and while he stays in the Caribbean to protect his daughter and her mother, she returns home. Cindy’s sister, Ann, meets her at the airport to welcome her back to this new chapter of her life. Cindy starts to settle back in, to meet old friends and make plans to take on a new job—when a shocking call suddenly comes. It is a call Cindy never could have expected in her wildest dreams, a call that rips her world apart. Someone close to her—too close—has been found murdered in Bermuda. Cindy has no choice but to get on the next plane to Bermuda and hunt for the killer. Before long, Cindy finds herself enmeshed in an underworld of big business and crime. Beside herself, hitting dead ends, Cindy is forced to call Mattheus to help. Once again, their stormy relationship deepens and takes a new turn, as they plunge into solving this crime together. But it all may be too late….

A bundle of the first three books in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series (romantic suspense) for an amazing price! In DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1), on the rugged, wild, eastern shore of Barbados, Cindy and Clint are enjoying their dream honeymoon, when paradise quickly turns into hell. Cindy finds her newly beloved taken away from her, drowned in a freak accident in the ocean. The local police are quick to declare it an accident, to insist that he was caught in a sudden riptide. But Cindy, left all alone, is not convinced. Cindy must return to her and Clint’s now-empty home in New York and face her in-laws, who never wanted Clint to marry her, and who did everything to make her engagement and wedding hell. She must deal with all of these women’s backbiting, gossiping and unspoken accusations, while she tries to get a handle on her own grief and to get clear on what really happened to Clint. Cindy is mailed an anonymous photo of a woman she had never met, addressed to Clint. As she tries to unravel the mysterious package, as she begins to dig deeper into Clint’s emails and files, she realizes how many secrets Clint had been hiding from his past. She realizes that she didn’t really know the man she loved. And she also realizes that Clint was murdered. She digs deeper, into the depths of Clint’s massive corporation, DGB oil, and as she starts to unearth information she shouldn’t, she goes too far. Soon her own life is in peril. On the run, she realizes that the only way to get answers, and to save her own life, is to return to where it all began: Barbados. As she heads into the dark underside of the island, into the heart of the local villages, she is shocked to discover what really happened to her husband on their honeymoon. But by then, it may already be too late.

DEATH BY OBSESSION is book #8 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series--which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON, a FREE download! In DEATH BY OBSESSION, the next installment in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, a huge destination wedding, merging two blueblood families, is about to take place in St. Martin, when Cindy and Mattheus get an emergency call from the father of the bride. He wants them to come down to the island immediately and dig up dirt on the groom. He can’t shake his bad feeling about the guy, even though all his other investigations didn’t turn up a thing. Cindy and Mattheus, who have been spending time building their relationship and are much closer, agree to come down on a lark and see what they can find. With help from informants from the seamy side of the island, they stumble upon a shocking secret that no one knows about: not his friends, not his family, and not his bride. Cindy and Mattheus disagree about what should be done. But as the father confronts the bride with the news, it sets off a dramatic and unexpected response. Soon, a sudden death follows. As all of this is going on, Cindy unexpectedly discovers something that also shakes her world: Mattheus, too, has a deep, dark secret that he has never told her. As Cindy and Mattheus investigate the awful homicide, they must also deal with this new revelation which threatens to tear their relationship apart. Death by Obsession brings us into the heart of love, passion, secrets and lies. DEATH BY OBSESSION is a stand-alone novel, and is also Book #8 in the Caribbean Murder series.

DEATH BY ENGAGEMENT is Book #12 in the #1 Bestselling Caribbean Murder series, which begins with DEATH BY HONEYMOON (Book #1)—a free download! It is also a standalone novel. In Death by Engagement (Book #12 of the Caribbean Murder Series), Cindy and Mattheus joyously head to Aruba to search for a wedding venue for their destination wedding. Thrilled, they enter the magical, romantic world of wedding planning and along the way, meet another recently engaged couple, also looking for a place to be wed. But the beauty of Cindy and Mattheus’s time together is suddenly interrupted, when they learn that the young woman they had just met has plunged to her death at a nearby cliff. Although she left a suicide note, the girl’s devastated father refuses to believe she took her own life. He begs Cindy and Mattheus to investigate and see if foul play was at work. Although Mattheus refuses, Cindy is compelled to give it a chance, a decision which causes increasing tension in Cindy and Mattheus’s relationship, and which brings out aspects of each of them never seen before. As Cindy explores the inner workings of the young woman’s life and family, many shocking surprises also take place in her relationship with Mattheus. Not only does Cindy have to remain strong and persistent in uncovering the cause of the death, she must go through many personal changes to deal with what’s happening in her own life. A surprise end on all fronts turns all expectations upside down.