Leigh Russell Books

Geraldine agrees to look into the disappearance of a young woman, only to discover that several other young women have also gone missing locally. They all vanished unexpectedly, without trace.

A sixteenth-century Jewish woman flees persecution and an abusive marriage in this historical saga from "a brilliant talent" (Jeffery Deaver). When soldiers attack the inhabitants of a Jewish ghetto in sixteenth-century Lithuania, Abigail manages to escape both the attack and her abusive husband, Reuven. She travels over land and sea to Venice, where she settles in another ghetto. Believing Reuven is dead, Abigail falls in love with her widowed neighbour, Daniel. But before Abigail and Daniel announce their betrothal, her violent husband reappears. Reuven is arrested for drunken brawling and sentenced to slavery in the galleys. Abigail hopes she has finally seen the last of him, but he returns to Venice, and Abigail fears she will never be free of him . . . From the Dagger Award finalist and acclaimed author of the Geraldine Steel novels, Abigail of Venice is an engrossing story of forbidden love that explores domestic violence, religious persecution, the Inquisition, and witch burning against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods of European history. Praise for the novels of Leigh Russell: "Tense and compelling." --Publishers Weekly "Unmissable." --Lee Child

When a hysterical mother reports her baby's sudden disappearance, suspicion immediately falls on the absent husband. But Detective Geraldine Steel's gut instinct tells her this case is not as simple as her colleagues think... Complications in the mother's life begin to surface, including her relationship with her controlling father, a controversial political figure. As the police investigate, their urgent attempt to find the missing infant grows ever more perplexing. Steel is forced to suspect everyone associated with the family - and when a body is discovered, matters take a deadly turn. Praise for Leigh Russell 'Brilliant and chilling, Leigh Russell delivers a cracker of a read!' - Martina Cole 'Unmissable' - Lee Child 'A brilliant talent in the thriller field... you're just plain going to love DI Geraldine Steel' - Jeffery Deaver 'Taut and compelling' - Peter James 'Leigh Russell has become one of the most impressively dependable purveyors of the English police procedural' - Times

A wealthy businessman is found dead in a river, shot before being dumped, sparking a tense investigation involving his young girlfriend and adult children, all potential heirs. As pressure mounts to solve the murder, the girlfriend is killed, complicating matters further. Simultaneously, Geraldine faces a personal crisis when her baby and the child minder go missing, forcing her to balance the murder case with a desperate search for her child. This gripping tale is the 22nd installment in the popular Geraldine Steel series.

Living with her colleague and long time love interest, Detective Inspector Ian Peterson, it seems that Geraldine Steel has finally found happiness. But life is never that simple. As a psychopath starts killing random women on the streets of York, Geraldine is abducted by a drugs syndicate who have been threatening her sister.

When a successful businessman is brutally murdered, the police suspect his glamorous wife and her young lover. Then the victim's business partner suffers the same gruesome fate and when yet another body is discovered, seemingly unrelated to the first two, the police are baffled. The only clue is DNA that leads them to two women: one dead, the other in prison.With a steady stream of bodies arriving at the morgue, can DI Geraldine Steel find the killer before the killer stages another deadly attack?

When a man plummets to his death from a balcony at York races, his wife and brother become suspects in a murder enquiry. Meanwhile Richard is being stalked by a killer issuing death threats. Richard is reluctant to go to the police, for fear his own dark secret will be exposed. Newly promoted Detective Inspector Ian Peterson is investigating the death at the races when a woman's body is discovered. Shortly after that, Richard is killed. With three murders and no suspect, the investigation seems to be going backwards. Ian is determined to discover who is responsible.

An inoffensive man is murdered in a seemingly motiveless attack. DI Geraldine Steel and her team are baffled, until DNA from an apparent stranger is discovered on the victim's body. Someone is lying and the police must uncover the truth before anyone else is killed......

A wheelchair-using woman is strangled and her son, Eddy, is arrested. When his alibi falls apart, the police are satisfied that he is guilty. Only Geraldine doubts whether Eddy is cunning enough to kill his mother and cover his tracks so successfully....

The new novel from one of the UK's favourite crime writers with over 1.5 million copies sold. A man is found dead, lying at the bottom of the stairs to his flat, his body blocking the door of the elderly woman who lives downstairs. The worried landlord who finds the body seeks advice from his friend's wife - now Detective Inspector Ariadne Moralis. Something in his demeanour hints at a hidden secret. When it becomes apparent that the body has been moved, it is clear the man's death was not an accident. With only an elderly witness who seems hesitant to disclose all she heard unless the price is right, and a key suspect on the run having fled the scene, Ariadne finds herself grasping at straws. DNA evidence supports the witness's claims that the victim had two girlfriends, Carly is unwilling to cooperate. Lauren is missing. The motive remains unclear, and the case becomes a confounding maze of unanswered questions, pushing Ariadne to her limits. Meanwhile, Geraldine Steel, adjusting to the routine of new motherhood, longs for the thrill of being at the centre of an investigation. As the body count grows, and every lead seems to turn out to be a dead end, the case quickly throws up more questions than answers, and Ariadne is rapidly out of her depth. Can her friend Geraldine Steel help her uncover the truth?

When a sex worker dies in suspicious circumstances in York, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel struggles to remain focused on the murder investigation: she is distracted by her worries about her colleague and life partner, Ian Peterson, who has disappeared. As Geraldine becomes close to her new DS, Matthew, she is...

When a pupil accuses a teacher of molesting her, his career and marriage are threatened... The girl's corpse is discovered in the woods, and the teacher becomes a suspect in a murder enquiry. The investigating team are satisfied the teacher is guilty, apart from Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, who believes the wrong man has been...

Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel relocates to London to take on another thrilling murder investigation While Geraldine strikes up a friendship with her new sergeant, the bodies of two black girls are discovered in quick succession in North London. Concerned about a reaction from the local black community, the police are puzzled to learn that two teeth were extracted from both victims after they died. One of the girls worked in a massage parlor and suspicion falls on a client of hers, a known racist. Geraldine is led to the upmarket shops of Bond Street in Central London. She fails to find the killer who is out prowling the streets hunting for his next victim. A young gay man unwittingly goes home with the killer who also takes another girl home to his attic, where he keeps his victims chained up while he shows them his "collection." With the death toll mounting, Geraldine has no time to search for her birth mother as she hunts for the elusive killer the papers are calling "The Dentist." When she finally discovers the gruesome collection on display in his attic, the killer knows that Geraldine must be his next victim.

DI Ian Peterson investigates a series of gruesome and brutal murders in York. As the body count mounts, the case demands all Ian's ingenuity, because these are murders committed seemingly at random, and this is a killer who leaves no clues.

Headmistress Abigail Kirby is dead. A potential witness has been murdered. And for DI Geraldine Steel, the stakes have been raised yet higher. Abigail's teenage daughter, Lucy, is missing, believed to have run away with a girl she met online. Time is quickly running out for Geraldine before her naivety costs Lucy her life. But with a...

When Henry's wife is stabbed to death, he pays a prostitute to give him an alibi. Her body is discovered, strangled, and the police realize they are dealing with a serial killer who will stop at nothing to cover his tracks. While they are hunting for evidence, another prostitute is brutally murdered. On the track of a vicious killer, DS Ian Peterson doesn't realize he is risking the life of his young colleague, Polly.

Emily and Poppy are living happily in the quaint village of Ashton Mead, where every household is friendly - with one exception. Unlike the other villagers, Silas Strang and his mother have a bad reputation. Rude and aggressive, they terrorise their neighbours and no one stops them. That is until Silas sets his sights on Emily's beloved...

Chasing a story, reporter Lucy Hall plunges into a desperate fight to save her own life. Lucy Hall's first summer in Paris promises to be idyllic. She's fallen in love with the city and enjoys her new job as an investigative reporter. When her friend Nina comes to stay, the girls look forward to a wonderful summer. But Paris is a city of contrasts and Lucy is about to experience its dangerous side. When an anonymous source promises her a scoop, Lucy can't resist the chance to make her name. The deeply unsettling meeting with her informant indicates that there may be more at stake than she'd suspected. Returning home with questions instead of answers, Lucy finds her apartment ransacked and Nina gone. Lucy knows her friend is in danger, but the police are unwilling to help. When her informant is found dead, she realises she may be next. Lucy has something the killer wants and he'll do anything to get it back...

A deadly secret lurks in an island's history, buried deep but not forgotten. And it is about to come to light. Lucy Hall arrives in the Seychelles determined to leave her worries behind. The tropical paradise looks sun-soaked and picture-perfect--but as Lucy soon discovers, appearances can be very deceptive. As black clouds begin to gather over what promised to be a relaxing family break, Lucy realises that her father stands in the eye of the coming storm. A shadow from his past is threatening to destroy all that he holds dear--including the lives of his loved ones. A dark truth is about to explode into their lives, and that truth is going to hit them right between the eyes.

Emily has settled in the picturesque village of Ashton Mead, where she lives with her puppy, Poppy. Life is finally going well for Emily. She has a cottage of her own, a job she likes and friends. Then she stumbles on the body of a woman who apparently drowned in the river. The other villagers suspect foul play and are quick to blame...

When Emily's boyfriend walks out, she is devastated. As she is puzzling over what to do with the rest of her life, she is surprised to learn that her great aunt has died, leaving Emily her cottage in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Ashton Mead. This inheritance comes with a condition: Emily must take care of her great aunt's pet. Not knowing what to expect, Emily sets off for the village, hoping to make a new life for herself. In the village, she soon makes friends with Hannah who runs the Sunshine Tea Shoppe, and meets other residents of the village where she decides to settle. All is going well... until her unknown pet arrives. Then Emily's ex-boyfriend turns up and against the advice of her new friends, she takes him back. When her next-door neighbor's daughter disappears in mysterious circumstances, Emily decides to investigate, unwittingly putting her own life in danger...

Eine Explosion reißt das mittelalterliche Städtchen Harchester frühmorgens aus dem Schlaf. Das Haus der Cliffs brennt, der Ehemann Thomas stirbt an einer Rauchvergiftung. DI Geraldine Steel, die ermittelnde Polizistin, glaubt nicht an einen Unfall, womit sie Recht behalten soll. Erste Spuren deuten auf die trauernde Witwe als Täter, die zudem kein Alibi vorweisen kann. Doch dann tauchen neue Beweise auf, die den Mord mit einer Einbruchsserie in Verbindung bringen. Wurde Thomas Cliff etwa von Einbrechern getötet? Als zwei weitere Morde geschehen, eskaliert die Situation ...

Nach der Trennung von ihrem Lebensgefährten wagt Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel den beruflichen Neuanfang in Woolsmarsh, einer beschaulichen Kleinstadt im Herzen Englands. Doch auch hier lauert das Verbrechen, denn bereits kurz nach Geraldines Ankunft geschieht ein furchtbarer Mord: Im Stadtpark wurde eine junge Frau erwürgt. Alle Spuren, die Geraldine und ihr Team verfolgen, führen ins Nichts. Es beginnt ein Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, denn Geraldine weiß: Dieser Mörder wird nicht aufhören, zu töten, bis ihn jemand aufhält …