Detective Karen Hart
8 primary works
Book 3
You can cover up the truth but it won’t stay buried forever.
A man is found bludgeoned to death in woodland by the village of Canwick, and the close-knit community is sent into shock. Detective Karen Hart, still haunted by the tragic loss of her husband and daughter nearby, is brought in to investigate the horrific murder.
It soon becomes clear that dark secrets lie behind Canwick’s unspoiled appearance. When Hart begins to suspect that a modern-day slavery ring has been hiding in plain sight among the villagers, she faces a race to find proof before the culprits slip from her grasp. But when key witnesses start disappearing, it’s obvious that there’s a deep-rooted conspiracy to keep prying eyes away from the truth.
But in a village where everyone knows everyone, who knows more than they are letting on—and who can Hart really trust? She’s in deep and she’s never been more alone. She must confront the tragedy of her own past if she wants to catch the killers before it’s too late. Because one thing’s for certain—there’s no turning back…
Book 4
A dark secret. A haunted past. And a house full of lies.
When two teenage girls vanish without a trace from an educational retreat at Chidlow House in Lincolnshire, the students and teachers are put on high alert.
Called in to investigate, Detective Karen Hart questions everyone who came into contact with the two girls, Cressida and Natasha, in the days leading up to their disappearance.
Stories of Chidlow House being haunted abound, but Hart—still coming to terms with the suspicious circumstances surrounding the tragic loss of her own family—knows that while the house might be otherworldly, the crime is grimly real.
But nothing is quite as it seems at Chidlow House. When it becomes clear that someone at the estate must know more than they’re letting on, Hart faces a race against time to find the culprit and save the girls.
While there is no shortage of suspects, Hart comes up against one dead end after another. And when she too begins hearing eerie whispers in the walls, she is forced to wonder: was she too quick to dismiss Chidlow’s supernatural reputation?
Book 5
A merciless killer who will stop at nothing. And a detective with nothing left to lose.
When Detective Karen Hart hears a scream echoing out of beautiful Lincoln Cathedral one snowy evening, she is the first officer on the scene. In the chapel a man lies murdered, a bloody cross carved into his forehead.
The twisted killing sends this close-knit community into shock. And a note to the police from the murderer, signed by ‘The Cleanser’, confirms their worst fears: this sadistic slaying is the first of many. The ritual killings will never stop until Hart uncovers the murderer’s ungodly motive.
When early leads become dead ends, Karen starts to wonder if there’s a link to a rumoured conspiracy within police ranks—particularly when an abrasive new officer is assigned to the case. Could the key to catching ‘The Cleanser’ be dangerously close to home? Meanwhile, she is battling her own demons as she struggles to come to terms with the deaths of her husband and daughter.
In her toughest case yet, Karen will come closer than ever before to a dangerous truth. Can she put the pieces of the puzzle together before she’s stopped in her tracks?
Book 6
Can DS Karen Hart rely on the word of a little girl to save the life of a woman in grave danger?
When a woman is abducted from a quiet suburban street and bundled into the back of a white van, the only witness to the crime is a child with a reputation for telling tall tales.
The police doubt the girl’s story, except for Detective Karen Hart, who is determined to follow her instincts—perhaps because the shy little girl reminds her of the daughter she’s still grieving.
When a playing card is found at the scene, Karen finds her first clue. And when a second card is found at the home of a missing woman, Tamara, Karen finds her victim. But before the team can catch their breath, another woman linked to Tamara is snatched. And then a body turns up in a farmer’s field.
With the crimes having escalated from kidnap to murder, Karen must unlock the killer’s calling-card code before any more victims are taken. But getting to the truth isn’t going to be easy when Tamara’s family has so much to hide…
Book 7
Is Karen Hart’s latest investigation a routine missing persons case—or part of a dark conspiracy?
Detective Karen Hart is finally getting her life back on track—enjoying her new relationship and dealing with the grief in her past. Then someone from her counselling group asks for help locating a missing friend, Phoebe Woodrow, who went out partying and never came home.
Karen wonders if Phoebe’s disappearance might be related to a recent spate of women having their drinks spiked. As she digs deeper, she finds out that Phoebe’s work in medical research involved a shifty alliance with Quentin Chapman, a menacing local gangster—but it was also about to make her a fortune. Did Phoebe know too much? Or was it professional jealousy that put her life at risk?
Chapman makes it very clear that he doesn’t appreciate the police looking over his shoulder. As his threats start to hit close to home, Karen will need to face her worst fears—but can she really do that when her job has already cost her so much?
Book 8
Only one person can help crack this case—but he’s also the prime suspect.
DC Sophie Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Viciously bludgeoned one night in a dark alley, she is left fighting for her life in hospital, leaving no clues as to why she was there or what might have motivated the attack.
For Detective Karen Hart, fiercely protective of her young protégée, this is already deeply personal: an attack on Sophie is an attack on the whole team. When a car workshop near the crime scene is linked to local mobster Quentin Chapman, the man Hart has spent years trying to bring down, it’s hard not to jump to the most obvious conclusion.
But Chapman not only denies any knowledge of the incident—he asks for Karen’s help. Someone is killing his associates, and he fears he might be next. With little else to go on, Hart has no choice but to rely on her sworn enemy and his underworld connections for valuable information. Can she trust Chapman to tell her the truth—or will this shady collaboration be the last case of her career?
Book 9
Three boys were taken and murdered fifteen years ago. The killer is in jail. So why is history repeating itself?
A family outing to Tattershall Castle comes to a chilling end when eleven-year-old Tommy Burton disappears without a trace in broad daylight. All that remains in his place is a small blue teddy bear. DS Karen Hart and her team are called in to investigate the unusual circumstances—but for DI Morgan the crime scene is eerily familiar.
It’s been fifteen years since Morgan worked on a traumatic case that saw Graham Donaldson put behind bars for abducting and murdering three young boys. His calling card: a blue teddy bear left at the scene of each crime, a detail never revealed to the press or public. Could Donaldson, recently transferred to a local prison, have something to do with the missing boy? Has he somehow inspired a copycat? Or, worse, is the original killer still out there—and embarking on a second campaign of terror?
With Tommy still missing, and a growing list of suspects, Karen’s team must piece the puzzle together before the unthinkable happens. But as a dizzying chase for the truth unfolds, could it be that the evil they seek is hiding in plain sight?
Book 10
A medieval torture device. An archaeological dig. Can DS Karen Hart unearth the truth?
In the dead of night, four teenagers taking a shortcut through an archaeological dig site find a woman’s lifeless body in a muddy trench, her hands and neck locked in a medieval device known as a Shrew’s Fiddle. It doesn’t take long to see that these are no ancient remains: the woman was killed just hours earlier.
Called in to unearth the truth, DS Karen Hart learns that the victim, local woman Alison Poulson, was unpopular with the archaeologists and the TV crew filming the excavation. Digging further, she finds bitter colleagues, an angry farmer and an oddly unmoved husband. Then there’s the teenage girl who found the body, who seems to know more than she’s letting on…
After a second murder rocks the investigation, it seems the killer will stop at nothing to cover their tracks. Can Karen unravel the mystery before another life is lost?