Prologue
"Hurry up, will you?" Phillips called anxiously into the dark abyss of the monks' refectory. "Someone's going to catch us for sure–"

A boy with dark, unruly hair appeared in the doorframe. "You've got the jitters, Phillips. You're pathetic. Just keep a lookout and leave the...

Chapter one
Detective Chief Inspector Brendan Moran of the Thames Valley Police was concentrating hard. He frowned at the seven irritatingly blank squares glaring up at him from the newspaper like empty accusations. Nine letters. Also a man's role in medical disciple. A something D something – Moran threw down...

Chapter One
DCI Brendan Moran nudged the door open cautiously, unsure what to expect. He fumbled for the light switch and blinked as light flooded the small room. His eyes took in the scene with approval. It was just what he had hoped it would be: small, snug, quiet, clean...

Chapter One
"Guv?"

Moran's eyes snapped open. "What?"

"There's a monk on the phone for you."

"A what?"

"A monk." Phelps grinned. "You know..." The sergeant steepled his hands and raised his eyes heavenwards in an attitude of mock reverence.

Moran ran a hand through his thinning hair...

January
'Straight as a die this road, guv.'

'It's a Roman road, Phelps. Of course it's straight. Oh hell, and wouldn't you know it?' DCI Brendan Moran peered through the windscreen. 'Here comes the snow.'

'No worries.' Sergeant Phelps flicked the indicator. 'We're here.'

Moran squinted...

'They found him – I take it you've been informed already?'
'Yes, Sir. I'm aware.'
I try to make myself comfortable. The chair's hard and I'm tired. Of course I've been informed. They found him all right – what was left of him.

DCI Brendan Moran stabbed the CD player’s button, and shook the single earphone from his ear. ‘So the question is…?’ He turned to DC George McConnell, and cocked an eyebrow.

Chapter 1
From where Moran was standing it looked like a long way down – the multi-storey was stacked six levels high. The guy was perched on the top tier, the one open to the elements, the one where Moran inevitably found himself every shopping trip – right at the top...

'They found him – I take it you've been informed already?'
'Yes, Sir. I'm aware.'
I try to make myself comfortable. The chair's hard and I'm tired. Of course I've been informed. They found him all right – what was left of him.

Fabrice Cleiren was tired. Not the sort of normal tired-after-a-hard-day-in-the-office tired, but tired to the core of his being. He’d made himself stop just once from Fishguard, wearily guiding the 13.5-metre Scania into the truck park at the services and...

Cyril Duboff took out a handkerchief and dabbed his brow for the umpteenth time that evening. The shop was sweltering and he’d had enough – just the final tally and he was done. It hadn’t been a bad day for sales; people had been happy to come into the...

Tracey Whittaker was beginning to feel an overwhelming sense of relief. After weeks of training she had almost completed her first international flight. Her uniform was still spotless, her blouse was crisp and clean, and a quick toilet break had reassured her that her make up was holding up well...

My vision blurs as I stretch my fingers to cover the octave. It’s happened before at moments like this – moments when I know I’m going to fail. I strain to extend my hand to the required position, but I can’t quite make it; my pinky is just...

Prologue II

The stars were brighter than usual tonight, Publius Albanus Tutor mused as he made his way down the colonnaded main street of Leptis. Funny how cold it could get after you'd spend the day baking under your amour. But he wasn't complaining. Compared to other postings...

Chapter one
Chapter tip: when you start learning to play the drums, play along to existing tracks by pro artists. It doesn't matter if you don't get it all right (how can you?). What matters is that you're gaining experience in playing in time, and with a...

Prologue
He placed his hands gently upon the stone, probing and pressing. It would open, given the correct sequence. And he knew the sequence; he'd worked it out. The question was, should he use this knowledge?

"Come on, Theo. Quit stalling."

He felt a prod in his lower back...

Chapter one
When I close my eyes I can still picture it; dark and brooding in the twilight, a house heavy with melancholy - as if its very fabric had been soured by some dreadful, catastrophic tragedy. Even though the events I am about to describe are six years past, in...

Prologue
Stonehenge, 2397 BC

The standing stones were heart-stoppingly beautiful. Bathed in angelic light, they pulsed with a restless energy. The girl, Domino, pushed her way through the crowd. Nobody took any notice as she passed between them. The promised day was drawing to a close – tonight it would...

On a chilly December afternoon, the now twenty-six year old Tim returns to his near-derelict family home on a mission to salvage his dad’s rusty Morris Minor...

The warehouse was dim and dingy, yellow fluorescent tubes casting puddles of grubby light on the unfinished concrete floor. Racks of automotive spares filled the main body of the room, stretching to the ceiling like Meccano prototypes for some ambitious home engineering project. Rain rattled thunderously on the warehouse roof...