Terminal Descent

In Terminal Descent, the fine line between ambition and obsession blurs, as the magnetic pull of wealth and the libertine allure of promiscuity weave a culture veering on the precipice of moral decay. The path once tread in pursuit of lofty ladders now morphs into dark, enigmatic alleys leading to a slippery slide of relentless descent.As the veils of societal decorum thin, the narrative plunges into a whirlpool where unchecked desires and unrestrained indulgences set the stage for a haunting spectacle of human nature stripped bare. Terminal Descent is an evocative exploration of how the seductive dance between aspiration and moral compass can spiral into a fall from grace, narrating a tale where every choice made casts a long, indelible shadow.

Taken in by the Lights

Laura and her family love the little cottage in the village from the day they move in and it seems the perfect place for a happy family to grow up. When the lights appear across the field the children have no idea what they are or where they have come from and, despite their foreboding, they are almost forgotten as the years go by. Then, after Laura has moved out, the lights reappear to her brothers… with devastating effect. Some years later Laura discovers that the cottage is up for sale and, despite the lingering memories of those past events, Laura wants to live there again, so she and her boyfriend, Rob, decide to buy it bringing the happenings of the past full circle.

Take Two Tablets

“If people think I’m bad, then I’ll be good at that!”

Macy Lord is living her worst life: victimised at home, vilified at school.

When novice Religious Studies teacher Mr Fairclough asks his class to re-interpret The Ten Commandments, Macy resolves, for the sake of authenticity, to break them. Blaming, blaspheming, coveting, dishonouring, lying, stealing, and worshipping shiny stuff all come easy, but then she kills – and kills again.

Traumatised by her potential parricide, Macy goes on the run: faking adulthood in London, blurring art and death in Paris, escaping undercover in Arabia, raising the bar in Brooklyn.  

Pursued by a coterie of vengeful cast-offs, Macy craves her calm, cool Mr Fairclough, but having lost his star pupil, he too has eschewed education for misadventures of his own.

If nurture is absent, will nature take its course? Can Macy find redemption in the chaos of her life? And how will she ‘complete the set’ with The Seventh Commandment still unbroken?

Suicide or Murder

Mina, a Lufthansa flight attendant, and Adam, a trainee police detective, establish a loving relationship formed around an astounding story (purported to be true) that boggled police investigators and medical examiners in LA. The story investigates the legal ramifications associated with a bizarre death that was chosen as the most unusual case on record for presentation at the 25^th Anniversary dinner of the American Association of Forensic Scientists.

It may be difficult to envisage a growing romance within the confines of a murder mystery; however, the unusually volatile pressures and emotions that surround this case are, in fact, the perfect vehicle to exhibit the unique personalities of the involved characters. This story is sometimes bizarre and sometimes amusing and it becomes quite difficult to keep in mind that a large part of it is claimed to have really happened.

Stumped

The brutal murder of a young married woman during an annual cricket match in the sleepy countryside village of Bundary near Bristol forms the backdrop to a novel of illicit affairs, an escort agency and the attempted break-up of an international drug smuggling ring based in the Balkans and operating in Britain and Eastern Europe.

Solving the murder involves cooperation between the Avon and Somerset Police and officers from the West Midlands who are working with The National Crime Agency to discover how drugs are being imported into Britain from The Balkans.

The visiting cricket team captain is a known drug dealer from the Wolverhampton area who is offered amnesty of a potential prison sentence if he will go undercover to try to break up the drug ring.

This brings him into contact with one of the suspects for the murder as he travels to Dubrovnik and Montenegro, where he meets up with the operators of the drug cartel who own a vineyard near Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.

Storm Force

Matt Bradley, former street gang teen, now a tough operator with an elite mountain rescue team.His wife Amanda vanishes in plain sight. There are no clues, no obvious motive.With the team leader stranded in a plane crash, he must lose his emotions and focus.His mission to find her pits him against criminal thugs working with a shadowy offshore network of killers.Where is she and why was she targeted?To save her, he must ‘fly blind’ against the clock in steep, remote wilderness.

Stars Aligned

When Emily moves halfway across the country to escape her abusive ex, Jason, she ends up landing her dream job and meeting her CEO and ideal man, Alex. Things are starting to look up for her and life is good. That is until she discovers Jason has followed her and is set intent on destroying everything she has achieved. She finds herself unwillingly working alongside Jason, and both under the management of Alex, who is oblivious to their previous life together. She must remain strong, out his dark secrets and protect her man to win her freedom.

But Emily has some dark, twisted secrets of her own, secrets Jason owns entirely, and Alex seeks.

South Island Slaughter

When Detective Superintendent Cully returns to South Island for a long-awaited school reunion, little does he know that the event will swiftly turn into a nightmare. A devastating mass shooting unfolds, and Cully is thrust into the role of leading the investigation. However, amidst the chaos, he battles his own demons, fearing that past abusive behavior will resurface with deadly consequences.

The victims, all connected to Cully’s school days, include Sophie Cairns, a former classmate and his ex-girlfriend, who miraculously survives the tragedy. In her book, a trauma therapist boldly suggests that fatal violence is the only solution to unbearable agony.

As the relentless police team hunts down the shooter, Cully’s path intertwines with that of DC Indah Kasali, forging a close bond. Sophie and Indah find themselves entangled in a battle to win Cully’s affections.

South Island Slaughter is a gripping thriller that explores the harrowing aftermath of tragedy, the complexities of human relationships, and the haunting effects of a troubled past.

Sons and Mothers

The year was 1939 and soldiers were about to go to war. Constance Cummings, a sixteen-year-old beautiful but naïve young girl, was taken in by a conniving and duplicitous junior army officer who was already married with a family using a false identity.

With the false promise of later marriage and following a wager with his colleagues he lured the girl into a seedy room where he raped her.

She found herself to be pregnant and in 1940 she had a baby with an unknown father. Even though she had been duped and raped this was considered to be a disgrace and the child, a boy, was taken from her without her even being aware of his sex.

Meanwhile, some miles away the offender’s real wife gave birth to a son.

This is a story of their lives from that point on. Will Constance ever meet up with her son? Will the offender’s real wife ever realise what a dreadful man she had married? Will the two half-brothers ever meet and become friends?

Some Service to the State

The year is 1925. In the borderlands of a newly partitioned Ireland, a doctor new to Northern Ireland begins a search for a missing patient, a young girl who has fallen pregnant.Meeting a wall of silence, she enlists the help of a local, a former IRA volunteer recently released from jail. Their enquiry brings them into contact with a community still suffering from the wounds of civil war. More worrying for them, they find they are beginning to rattle skeletons that some powerful people would prefer went undisturbed.As they slowly begin to unravel the truth of the girl’s fate, they find that the traces they are following lead to some crimes more monstrous that they ever previously considered.“Some Service to the State is a superb book with dialogue that would not be out of place on the stage of the Abbey Theatre. Mick McAlinden is a former IRA man caught on the wrong side of the border and the wrong side of history: a law student who ends up working in an abattoir. Aidan McQuade has created a character whose travails highlight the thwarted dreams and the tragedy of partition for so many people in post-revolutionary Ireland.”- Ronan McGreevy, journalist and author of Great Hatred: the Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson.“Like Graham Greene, Dennis Lehane, and Louise Penny before him, McQuade takes the humble crime story and uses it like a scalpel to probe and expose the darkness in human souls and human society.”- Martin W. Sandler, National Book Award-winning author and historian.“The sparring sparky dialogue is a delight and never fails to vivify the darkness. McQuade shows prodigious skill in shining a spotlight on the scandal of mother-and-baby homes and in brilliantly imbuing the past with his own potent blend of heart, soul and wit.”- Rosemary Jenkinson, multi-award winning playwright and author of Marching Season.

Social Murder

“Ronni’s mind fell completely silent. She stopped being aware of the room around her, there was only the hateful figure of a bully and an abuser ahead of her, all else was a blur.”You’re in a strange city. Your friend is missing. Could you find the courage to do what is necessary? Would you even know where to start?These are the questions faced by law graduate Ronni Wong when her friend Jenny disappears after a date with a man she met online. Finding evidence suggesting that Jenny’s internet lover hides the darkest of secrets, Ronni is forced to embark on a journey through social media to discover the identity of a kidnapper, and then a dangerous race against time through the streets of Metro Manila to save her friend’s life. The clock is ticking, can Ronni make it in time?Join Ronni as her investigation into one disappearance leads her into mortal danger. Social Murder will keep you on the edge of your seat, and at the same time challenge you to think about how you use social media. Are you safe online?

Snuff

The story of a boy with a dysfunctional upbringing, who faces depraved acts of violence and criminality and is saved by adoption in London and evacuation to Derbyshire to avoid the blitz of WWII.

Thirty years on the searing drought of 1976 exposes two bodies under Ladybower reservoir. What’s the connection with the spate of murders in Sheffield?

Police Inspectors Hawk and Tony D both have buried secrets of their own. Can they work together to stop a serial killer?

One suspects, but the other knows the psychopath responsible.

Both face the gravest consequences if they can’t cover up their past deeds.

Just how far will two hardened streetwise detectives go to save themselves?