Margaret Duffy's writing is deeply influenced by her connection to the natural world, a passion she also channels into her work as a garden designer. Her previous experiences in public service have provided a unique perspective that subtly informs her narratives. Now residing in Devon, she crafts stories that often draw from the evocative atmosphere of her surroundings. Her prose invites readers into worlds shaped by both meticulous observation and a profound appreciation for the earth.
Twelve-year-old Damien 'Spike' Baker loves to climb up trees and walls to look in people's windows. But he makes a deadly mistake when he climbs up some rampant ivy on a large mansion. When his body is discovered on a building site, Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley offer to assist with the investigation. What did Damien see through the window?
Nicholas Haldane was dead, but he wouldn't lie down. And now Julian Hardy, the man who hired him in a bid to destroy Richard Daws, a top official in the National Crime Agency, is out of prison and has changed his surname to Mannering.Patrick Gillard, working for the agency but within the Avon and Somerset force with his wife Ingrid Langley, receives a request from MI5, for whom he used to work, to investigate Mannering. They are then called in when his cleaner makes a shocking discovery.Meanwhile, an enigmatic couple calling themselves Simon and Natasha Graves turn up in the village, intent on pestering Patrick's recently widowed mother. Could there be a connection to Mannering?Patrick and Ingrid are soon embroiled in a deeply personal and disturbing case.
Patrick Gillard is drawn out of retirement when his former NCA boss asks him to find John Brinkley, a newly retired commander of the Metropolitan Police who has gone missing. Patrick is convinced that there's more to the disappearance than meets the eye. What does Brinkley know that has the Met, MI5 and dangerous mobsters all on his tail?