Curiosity, noun. 1) A strong desire to know or learn something. 2) An unusual or interesting object or fact. 3) That thing which will definitely get you killed. (See also ‘reckless’.) Amy Matthews – newly qualified physicist, overachiever and latent psychic – is feeling restless. That’s the trouble with the fast track – suddenly you’re done and left with too much time on your hands and not enough to occupy your mind. Maybe that’s why her ‘special skillset’ is misbehaving. What she really needs is some excitement. Amy is about to regret that wish. Stumbling across the body of a hanged man, Amy is convinced he was murdered. The taciturn, mercurial and gorgeous detective she recently antagonised agrees with her. Pushed into an uneasy alliance, she and DS Danvers hunt for a murderer. One who has killed before and plans to kill again. A killer who has a desperate agenda and an affinity for the occult… Amy’s time is running out. But at least she’s not feeling directionless anymore. …Right? When science can’t save you, it’s time to break the laws of physics… Dead Man's Hand is the prequel novella to the Harker & Blackthorn series - pulse-pounding urban fantasy which follows three cryptid hunters as they search for mysterious beasts, face up to a corrupt secret organisation and discover the secret of an ancient artefact. If you like snarky heroines, nail-biting action, humour, monster hunters, psychic mystery, a diverse cast and a touch of slow burn romance, give this a try.

Telekinesis, noun The psychic ability to move objects without physically touching them. A blatant disregard for the laws of physics. An interesting way to screw up your career (see also ‘flammable’) Amy Matthews is proud of being one of the youngest ever doctors of particle physics. Her life in Oxford is just about perfect – well, except for colleagues who won’t take her seriously, a pushy megacorporation trying to ‘buy’ her department and her inability to teach a class without the equipment mysteriously bursting into flames. But everything is normal, right? Amy is certain she can’t be causing all those electrical fires. A volatile encounter with a troubled stranger and a rash of mysterious deaths across the city send Amy tumbling down a path she thought she’d left in the past. Forced to admit she has no control over her growing psychic abilities, Amy pitches herself into a life and death struggle against a dangerous entity. She must master her long neglected talent or pay the ultimate price. An inhuman presence hunts the city’s sleeping inhabitants. A creature which creeps in by night…and feeds. But how can Amy hope to survive when she can’t stop breaking the laws of physics? Slice of Death is the first book in the pulse-pounding Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like snarky heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, you’ll love this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

Loch, noun 1. A Scottish word, of Goidelic origins, referring to a lake or large body of fresh water 2. See also ‘monster’ When Amy is invited to spend a week in Scotland in order to disprove the existence of the famous cryptid said to haunt Loch Ness, she jumps at the chance. If nothing else, it will be a welcome distraction from her hot and cold romantic relationship, her annoying boss and the mountains of cryptozoology notes that need filing in the museum. But as she, Rebekah and Steve arrive at the loch, it becomes clear that the recent slew of ‘monster’ sightings have gone viral, attracting amateur cryptid hunters and news outlets alike. After clashing with the Cryptonites – a once popular paranormal documentary making team – Amy and her friends soon discover a tangled web of secrets concerning the loch. Every legend contains a kernel of truth and Harker & Blackthorn’s enemies are willing to kill over this one. Amy will need every scrap of her hard-won power to make it out alive. There’s something in the water…

Predator, noun 1. an animal which naturally preys on other animals. 2. a person who ruthlessly exploits others. 3. a way for foolish cryptozoologists to trade down the food chain in one easy step. The semester is over and Amy Matthews – physicist by day, cryptid seeking freelance consultant by night – intends to spend the summer looking for mysterious beasts with Rebekah and Steve. Harker & Blackthorn’s small but dynamic team has gained a reputation for winning when it comes to solving cryptozoological mysteries. They’re about to get more than they bargained for when an SOS comes from the Welsh seaside town of Aberystwyth. Several grisly attacks on livestock point to the presence of an alien big cat. And that’s the only part of the case that does make sense. Caught up in strands of Welsh mythology with a dangerous carnivore on the loose, Amy stumbles upon information even more deadly than the beast they seek. Someone knows far more about this creature than they’re telling. Amy must discover the truth before a fatal weapon falls into enemy hands. Sheep are not the only item on the menu…

Pretence, noun 1) An insincere act performed in an attempt to reach a specific, self-interested goal. 2) A claim to possess a specific quality or skill. 3) See also ‘backstabbing’ Amy Matthews – physicist, telekinetic and cryptid hunter – is off her game. Reeling from a devastating betrayal, she no longer trusts her own judgement. And just when it seems as if things can’t get any worse, she is horrified to discover that the Touch is gone. When Harker & Blackthorn are hired to investigate a previously unidentified eel-like creature in the Blackwater Salt Marshes, Amy hopes it will provide the distraction and distance she needs to pull herself back together. Surely her gift isn’t gone for good? Instead, she, Rebekah and Steve find themselves entangled in the search for a missing artist, as well as a mysterious beast. Beset by a strange sequence of accidents, Amy suspects foul play. Someone wants to destroy Harker & Blackthorn. Torn between her emotional turmoil and unravelling centuries old legends of a creature that haunts the marshes, Amy must find a way to get her psychic abilities back – or risk losing her friends and her freedom forever. The answers she seeks are hidden in the mists of the saltmarsh. And something far deadlier than any mythical beast lies in wait… Season of Mists is the fourth book in the spine-tingling Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like snarky heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, try this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

Ritual, noun 1) The established form for a ceremony, including the order of words and actions, often linked with religious or magical practices. 2) No. Absolutely not. Bad plan. 3) We’re all going to die. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. All physicists know that. Amy Matthews is no exception, even as she struggles through the emotional wreckage left by her last confrontation with Evergreen Technologies. Trying to adjust to life without Eddie – her one constant since she arrived in Oxford six years ago – Amy seeks a distraction. When her brother-in-law is called in to consult on the exhumation of an undiscovered burial mound, Amy is happy to lend a hand. Considering their track record working together, she really should have known better. Young men across the city fall into inexplicable comas. Tempers fray as winter locks the land with frost. A host of frightening apparitions ride through the night. And then the murders begin… An unexpected find in a hidden part of the museum points to a familiar enemy, but more forces are at work than the mere human desire for revenge. Harker & Blackthorn have diced with death before but never like this. And for Steve, the price is too high… Everything they’ve worked for hangs in the balance, but can their friendship survive the trials ahead? A tale older than the telling is hurtling to its conclusion. Two kings will rise. One will wear the crown. One will fall. Only Amy can choose which…

Adrift, adjective 1) Floating without being steered, anchored or moored. 2) Failing to reach a target or winning position. 3) See also ‘hopeless’ Amy is determined to turn her turbulent life around. She may have lost a few friends lately thanks to her dangerous occupation as a consultant for Harker & Blackthorn. She refuses to let her best friend, Steve, be another casualty. It’s obvious Steve has been wary of her since the Winter Solstice, but at least that’s something she can fix. The team’s newest job sends them to Falmouth to investigate a mysterious disturbance in the marine eco-system. Much as Amy would like it to be the sea serpent, Morgawr, the facts don’t fit. A private biological research vessel is canvassing the area – could it have anything to do with the corrupt mega-corp which has given them so much trouble in the past? If so how can Harker & Blackthorn solve the case without violating their tenuous truce? If that isn’t enough to worry about, Meghan has gate-crashed the trip and an old flame from Amy’s past has reappeared in her life. Things are about to get very complicated. All the maths in the world can’t help in matters of the heart. Far out to sea, beneath the Cornish tides, strange creatures slip through the dark waters around an artefact, waiting to be discovered… The Sea in Darkness is the sixth book in the high adrenaline Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like snarky heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, try this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

The course of true love never did run smooth… Meghan is well aware that she’s no genius. But that’s okay because there are things she knows which no one else seems to grasp. She knows that if love is real, it’s worth fighting for. That it doesn’t come in convenient packages. And that trust, once broken, has to be carefully repaired. She also knows that the authorities are wrong about the missing teenage girl, because twenty-years ago, something very strange happened to Meghan herself. Not that anyone, including her parents, believed her. But this time, Meghan has friends who specialise in weird. Enlisting the help of Harker & Blackthorn, she puts fixing her wrecked love story on hold, determined to save a girl a lost as she once was herself. What Meghan doesn’t know, is that Eddie will do anything to get her back. And he has no intention of letting her face eldritch forces alone… Summer’s Lease is a companion novella in the roller coaster ride Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like snarky heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, try this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

Peril, noun 1) Serious and immediate danger. 2) Exposure to the risk of being injured, destroyed or lost. 3) Harker & Blackthorn’s general state of being. Amy Matthews – physicist, psychic and cryptozoology consultant – is thrilled to be travelling to Romania on Harker & Blackthorn’s latest case. Rebekah has finally managed to track down an informant who can tell them where the rogue DNA used to make sanguivorous panthers came from. While her methods of acquiring the intel aren’t entirely legal, none of the team are technically breaking the law. Yet. What should have been a quick, risk-free job turns into a political nightmare when the team are accused of a heinous crime. Pushed into the service of a mysterious, ancient organisation, Amy, Rebekah and Steve must journey into the forests of Southern Transylvania in search of answers. Failure is not an option if they ever want to make it home. And in a remote mountain stronghold, an inhuman intelligence watches their progress with interest…and hungers. For the Dead Travel Fast is the seventh book in the riveting Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like snarky heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, try this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

Harvest, noun 1) The process or period of gathering, usually crops. 2) See also ‘offering’. Bruised in more ways than one after Harker & Blackthorn’s most recent misadventure, Amy is restless and frustrated with unasked, unanswered questions. A call for help from a housing developer in Northumberland could be just the diversion she needs – especially since it includes mysterious reports of a giant lizard-like creature. Rebekah laughs off the suggestion that they might have found a true dragon. Nothing is more biologically improbable. But even she has to admit there’s something odd going on. The picturesque town of Briarley is too perfect, too prosperous. Instead of encountering the small town clannishness she expects, Amy finds herself enthusiastically welcomed by the Local Council. And Steve is definitely acting strange. Could the town’s perfect exterior conceal a dark and malevolent heart? As tensions boil within Harker & Blackthorn and further acts of increasingly nasty sabotage occur, Amy is forced to confront a truth she has been running from. Only facing her fears can avert the coming disaster. If it’s not already too late. If there’s one thing a physicist can spot, it’s a pattern. The Petty Harvest draws near -will everything end in fire and blood? The Shadow & the Soul is the eighth book in the gripping Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like snarky heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, you may enjoy this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

Retribution, noun 1) Punishment, sanctioned by law, meted out in return for an offence or crime. 2) You know what you did. 3) See also: Revenge. For the first time ever, Amy finds herself wishing for a quiet life. Recent changes in her friendship with Steve mean that she’s not desperate to charge off chasing cryptids for a change. In fact, if Harker & Blackthorn could avoid any more trouble for a few months, that would be great. She has other things on her mind right now. Be careful what you wish for – you might just get the complete opposite. Summoned to Dartmoor by the brutal killing of Rebekah’s mentor, the Harker & Blackthorn team find themselves mired in deception and at odds with each other. A dangerous animal is on the loose, but the facts just don’t fit a diagnosis of murder. With the boss fracturing under the weight of her grief and rage, and secrets threatening to split the fault lines in the team wide open, Amy and Steve find themselves facing an old enemy. One they barely survived an encounter with before. And this time, it’s personal. The case is far darker than any of them could have imagined. Rebekah isn’t the only one who wants revenge… This Wild Justice is the ninth book in the edge-of-your-seat Harker & Blackthorn series. If you like sassy heroines, thrilling mysteries, shadowy scientific organisations and enigmatic creatures, try this kickass urban fantasy adventure series.

Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear...Eddie has reluctantly come to the conclusion that an abundance of scepticism is a luxury he cannot afford if he wants to keep associating with Harker & Blackthorn. Then again, there are advantages to hanging out with supernerds who hunt cryptids - his relationship with Meghan is stronger than ever after trial by dragon-fire and life is never dull...even when he wishes it was. The arrival of a mysterious letter brings a once in a lifetime opportunity, shrouded in unusual requirements. But fine, Eddie can deal with the vagaries of a celebrity, even those of an outcast as aging rock star. Summoned to spend Hallowe'en week in a remote mansion in the Wye Valley, Eddie finds himself cut off from the outside world as he tries to root out the truth behind a heinous crime that happened three decades earlier. Baffled by his host who is either more guilty or less stable that he seemed, terrorized by frightening apparitions and generally disturbed by things doing significantly more than going bump in the night, Eddie starts to question the wisdom of accepting the invitation. Not to mention everything he thought he'd learned about the supernatural. Thank God he brought the right accomplice...

Fairy tale, noun 1) A fantasy folk tale featuring magical, imaginary beings and lands. 2) An idealised situation. 3) A fabricated story, especially one intended to deceive. 4) The place where you learn the true meaning of ‘fear’. Everything is going well for Amy Matthews. Apart from the nightmares… Harker & Blackthorn expect trouble. They live and breathe it. None of them expect the current state of quiet to last. Considering the unspoken strain within the team, maybe a dose of trouble is just what they need. When people start to go missing from around Oxford, leaving only mysterious burned marks on the ground behind them, Amy is almost relieved. At least until she connects it with a slew of ‘fairy tale’ creature appearances. And not the good kind of fairy tales. Her life as a scientist is about to collide disastrously with her extra-curricular activities. Before they can say ‘Brothers Grimm’, Harker & Blackthorn are facing down impossible monsters straight out of the darkest parts of the human psyche. Meanwhile, Amy is struggling with her past. Panic over the future leads to a fatal lapse in judgement. One with the direst consequences. Amy and Rebekah are faced with a deadline: three days to go where no human should go, where logic holds no sway. If they fail, the missing will remain lost forever. And so will Harker & Blackthorn…

_Lost, adjective 1) To be unable to find your way 2) A defeat sustained in conflict 3) Destroyed 4) Stolen by Evergreen Technologies_ Harker & Blackthorn have been searching for Evergreen’s hidden Institute for Young People without success. Finally, they have a lead and not a moment too soon as the bargain made with Lord Death grows ever heavier. Under the cover of searching for a mysterious bipedal cryptid, sighted in the Highlands, Amy, Rebekah and Steve set off for Caithness. Their true purpose is far more deadly than any monster hunt – they’re taking the fight to Evergreen Technologies. Amy – physicist, cryptozoology investigation consultant and telekinetic – soon finds her plate piled high with problems that have little to do with their mission. There are other entities which require her attention, but do they want to help or hinder? And why is Rebekah acting so strangely? Beset by danger on all sides, the outcome is clear: Either Evergreen falls, or Harker & Blackthorn will. Out across the sea, a voice weaves an eerie song through the Haar. It’s time for all debts to be paid…