Life in the clergy is quiet, respectful, peaceful—or so Callie Anson believes when she begins her new job as curate to the Reverend Brian Stanford at All Saints' Church in Paddington. Little does she realize how wrong she could be. After the traumatic end of her relationship with fiancé Adam, the last thing Callie needs is more emotional turmoil. But it seems she is not destined for a quiet life just yet. Knowing that women in the clergy are still disapproved of in certain quarters, Callie is prepared to face some criticism. But the deep-seated hatred shown by some of her respected male colleagues takes her by surprise, particularly the spiteful attack made by Father Jonah Adimola, a hard-line conservative Nigerian priest. Luckily, her good friend and mentor Frances Cherry is on hand to jump to her defense. But when Father Adimola is found strangled to death the next day and Frances is suspected of the crime, Callie must call upon her faith to steer her through the troubling and violent times and help prove her friend's innocence. With DI Neville Stewart heading the investigation, it's not long before the ecclesiastical facade is chipped away to reveal the ugly truth of hidden secrets. Evil Intent is a gripping crime novel that pitches the reader into a dark world of concealment, power and deception in the 21st century church.

"...no one does the British novel of crime and manners so well."―DEBORAH CROMBIE, New York Times bestselling author Life isn't easy for curate Callie Anson, but it's definitely interesting. Her relationship with policeman Marco Lombardi is growing warmer, although he seems to be keeping her at arms length from his close Italian family. Then her brother Peter―beloved and engaging as he is―gets a bit too close for comfort when he moves into her London flat. Callie faces professional challenges as well. Morag Hamilton, a new parishioner, is worried about her granddaughter Alex―a lonely and isolated twelve-year-old with a work-obsessed father and a self-absorbed stepmother. Meanwhile, Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is dealing with Rachel Norton, a pregnant young woman whose husband Trevor went out jogging along the Paddington canal and never returned. Just when Neville thinks he's solved it, someone else goes young Alex Hamilton.

In a culture obsessed with celebrity, baby Muffin's death is big news. Crib death? Or something more sinister? Everyone wants to know, including the police. Whatever the truth, the bereaved parents—celebrity couple Jodee and Chazz—live in curate Callie Anson's London parish, and Callie becomes involved with funeral arrangements, despite the disapproval of her vicar and his wife. Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is recalled from his honeymoon to investigate the case—with disastrous personal results. And journalist Lilith Noone's professional future is on the line, as she is sucked more and more deeply into her own flirtation with celebrity culture. Meanwhile, for police family liaison officer Mark Lombardi, the death of baby Muffin is eclipsed by another death, much closer to home, and he finds himself in an impossible position, torn between his loyalty to his family and his growing love for Callie.

The Reverend Callie Anson should have learned her lesson by now: revisiting the past is seldom a good idea. But she succumbs to peer pressure and attends a reunion at her theological college in Cambridge, where she is forced to confront painful memories – and the presence of her clueless ex, Adam. Margaret Phillips, the Principal of the college, has a chance for happiness but before she can grasp it she has to deal with her own ghosts – as well as corrosive, intrusive gossip. Both Margaret and Callie learn something about themselves, and about forgiveness, from wise retired priest John Kingsley. Meanwhile, in London, police officers Neville Stewart and Mark Lombardi are involved with the latest stabbing of a teenager. Was the victim – gifted, popular schoolboy Sebastian Frost – all he seemed to be, or was there something in his life that led inevitably to his death? The police find themselves plunged into the queasy world of cyber-bullying, where nothing may be as it seems. While they’re apart, Callie and Mark’s relationship is on hold, and his Italian family continues to be an issue. Will Mark realize, before it’s too late, that while his family will always be important to him, he is entitled to something for himself?

With a wedding on the way, and her demanding job as a curate in an affluent London parish, Callie Anson has enough on her plate to keep her busy. But she soon finds herself called to minister to a segment of her parish that she barely knew existed: the virtually invisible people – most of them foreign, some of them illegal – working in difficult conditions, for inadequate pay, in downmarket tourist hotels. How can she square her ordination vows to be a servant to the most vulnerable with her desire to be honest with her fiancé, policeman Mark Lombardi? Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is torn between the needs of his pregnant wife and the demands of his job when he is made Senior Investigating Officer on the case of a woman found dead in one of the tourist hotels. The death itself is not surprising, but the victim is. What was well-to-do Felicity Chapman doing in the Regent Hotel? Before Neville can get to the bottom of it, another death shakes him to the core.