Please note this book was previously published as Biding Their Time. Meet Detective Carol Wren. She has abandonment issues—but she never gives up on a case. Yorkshire born and bred, and backed up by her sergeant Dave Waite. His wife has left him—but Carol is fiercely loyal to her partner. The call comes early on Saturday morning. Devoted wife and mother-of-two Sue Cuttersby has been brutally hacked to death in her pretty suburban garden. Detective Carol Wren can’t find anyone with a bad word to say about Sue. But someone hated the unassuming housewife enough to hit her three times on the back of the head with a claw hammer, leaving her to die in agony. This murder was personal—and unusually vicious. Sue’s marriage to Gary, a wealthy businessman, appears to have been happy. But Carol discovers that appearances can be deceptive. The following day, a second body is found. Dumped on the premises of the local vet. Carol finds herself on the trail of a depraved serial killer, the last person you’d expect . . .

Meet Detective Carol Wren. She has abandonment issues—but she never gives up on a case. Yorkshire born and bred, she is backed up by her sergeant Dave Waite. His wife has left him—but Carol is fiercely loyal to her partner. The body is discovered by Chippy June, the local chip shop owner, tethered to the railings at the end of the pier. Racing to the scene, Detective Carol Wren surmises that this was no suicide—but cold-blooded murder. The victim is quickly identified as local fisherman Ortun Bevan. But the terrible storm the night before has washed away any physical evidence, and the local fishing community are a suspicious bunch, unwilling to talk to outsiders. It’s proving impossible for the detectives to make any headway in the investigation. But that same night, the night of the storm, Carol’s new neighbour is burgled. The only thing taken is his company laptop. When Carol discovers a connection between the theft and Ortun’s murder, she at last has a vital clue. As she delves further, she uncovers another unsolved killing and a series of sinister secrets stretching back more than fifty years. Will old crimes lead to new murder . . . ? Perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, Ann Cleeves, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk, Elly Griffiths and J.M. Dalgliesh. READERS LOVE CAROL ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I was gripped from the very start .’ Mark H. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘ Menacing and enthralling .’ Onia F. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘ Intriguing from start to finish . Highly recommended.’ Jane V. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I don’t know where Emmy gets her ideas from, but they are goooood !’ Maud M. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘So creepy right from the start .’ Mrs K. THE DETECTIVE Detective Inspector Carol Wren is in her late forties. She survived a brutal childhood, brought up by her abusive, alcoholic father after her mother disappeared. Carol is haunted by the belief her mother abandoned her, and avoids long-term, loving relationships, afraid to form a lasting bond in case she repeats the cycle of abuse. As a police officer, she is driven by the need to ensure that no one else suffers like she did. Dogged and devoted, she cares deeply for all victims and their families, and will keep going until she finds the truth. Her best friend and regular drinking buddy is her partner, Detective Sergeant Dave Waite, whose wife has recently left him. The pair often drown their sorrows together at local pub, The Lord. THE SETTING Scudderton is a typical north-east coastal town, situated between Scarborough and Whitby. Surrounded by moorland, the town itself is dominated by the marina; some people moor there and live on yachts and boats, others use trawlers for work. There’s also a sandy beach, a pier and a fairground, and the town is a bustling, lively place during the tourist season. During the winter months however, once the tourists have gone home, it can be a gloomy, desolate place. ALSO BY CAROL WREN DETECTIVE CAROL WREN MYSTERIES Book 1: SPITE YOUR FACE Book 2: HOLD YOUR BREATH

Detective Carol Wren faces her grisliest case yet. It’s one of the worst things Detective Carol Wren has ever seen. The body is discovered in an alleyway behind Buns ‘n’ Bread, the local bakery. The dead woman is thin to the point of starvation; her skin pockmarked with cigarette burns. She’s been cut open, the wounds sewn up with lurid green thread. A pile of discarded skin lies beside her. The contents of the dead woman’s handbag reveal that she is Karen Stokes, who left her local pub after a night out three years earlier—and was never seen again. So where has she been all this time? As Carol digs further, she discovers that two other women went missing around the same time. All three women had been drinking in the same pub the night they disappeared. All three had curly, blonde hair. But the cases were never linked. The night Karen’s body is discovered, another local woman disappears. Carol and her team are in a race against time before she meets the same gruesome fate as Karen Stokes.

Please note this book was previously published as Time Stands Still. Four damaged people on a seaside pier. Three people won't survive. Madeline wants revenge for being dumped by her husband. She leaves her bedbound daughter at home and heads to Scudderton Pier. Sofia feels invisible, which is just what she wanted. She wanders the pier, a baseball cap pulled low. No one takes any notice of her. Nathan hunts the pier for his next target—tourist season is the best time for pickpocketing. But Nathan can’t stop thinking about the other thing. The really bad thing he can’t stop doing. Desmond is a professional killer. He’s on a mission for his boss, but Desmond has his own agenda. Time is running out for the next victim... Meanwhile, Detective Carol Wren is still recovering from the shock of finding her missing mother’s body beneath the patio of her childhood home. But she’ll need to pull herself together to catch a vicious killer.

Please note this book was previously published as Blood on the Shore. Meet Detective Carol Wren as she faces her deadliest case yet. Vince Irons is bored of his humdrum life in Gloucester and his nagging wife, so he decides to take up a hobby . . . He kidnaps and kills women and stores them in freezers in a nearby lock-up. But he’s starting to feel the heat. So he heads to Scudderton. Detective Carol Wren’s patch. Meanwhile, Carol is questioning people on the beach. She wants to know who dumped a bucket full of blood on the shore—and why. Then Carol receives an anonymous call. A body’s been found on the moors. As the calls keep coming, Carol and her team struggle to stay one step ahead. The women of Scudderton are in peril, and it’s up to Carol to keep them alive.