"Lorraine has a big new challenge: building a team from a collection of staff picked to close down an abandoned asylum and replace it with a new high security unit in isolated Yorkshire. Lorraine has her work cut out for her when it appears that the group includes a secret saboteur. Then, a local teenager is found dead, locked in the isolation room in the derelict asylum building. With a discovery that forces her to face true isolation, trapped in the asylum's tunnels while the demolition team start work above, Lorraine becomes a fresh target for the killer."
"Six candidates. One job. A killer prepared to murder their way to the top.
Salford, 1983. Lorraine Quick is a single mum, a member of a band going nowhere fast and Personnel Officer at Salford's grim Memorial Hospital. A new General Manager position is being introduced, someone to steer the institution towards Margaret Thatcher's lofty vision for the NHS. Lorraine will be pivotal in selecting the successful candidate, thanks to her recent training in psychometric testing.
However, the deliberate substitution of a flu vaccine for a lethal dose of anaesthetic reveals a killer is at work at the hospital. Lorraine's suspicions turn towards the top brass vying for the new role - could the personality tests lead her to the killer?
Sharp Scratch takes readers behind the scenes of a sprawling northern hospital, to the places the public does not see and would not want to, where clashes between politics and personalities can be fatal."
"Destiny, prophecy and murder weave an intricate web in this beguiling historical mystery. Could a dark prophecy spell danger for Tabitha De Vallory and her unborn child?
Cheshire. May Day, 1753. Tabitha De Vallory believes her life is perfect: she has an imposing home with all the comforts she has ever desired, and is expecting her first child with doting husband Nathaniel De Vallory. But Tabitha's happiness is shaken when a girl is slaughtered beneath the Mondrem Oak on the family's forest estate. Recognizing the victim from her former scandalous life, Tabitha vows to find the killer.
Nearby, enigmatic Baptist Gunn and his followers are convinced that a second messiah will be born, amid blood and strife, close to the oak on Midsummer's Day. Could the girl's murder be linked to Gunn's cryptic prophecy? Do his wild claims of a second saviour spell danger for Tabitha and her unborn child?
As Midsummer's Day draws closer, Tabitha soon learns the destiny that threatens her and those she holds most dear...
Has Tabitha's fate been decided? Beautifully crafted and alluring, full of dark deception, intrigue and terrifying foreboding, THE PROPHET is perfect for fans of THE MINIATURIST by JESSIE BURTON and SARAH DUNANT."
"The philosophy of time, destiny and the stars pervade this intricate historical mystery in which a young woman determines to avenge her mother’s death.
1752, Midsummer. Following a desperate summons from her mother, Tabitha Hart departs London for her home village of Netherlea – only to discover that her mother has drowned. Determined to discover the truth about the Widow Hart’s death, Tabitha consults her almanack and uncovers a series of cryptic notes describing her mother’s terror of someone she names only as ‘D’. Teaming up with young writer Nat Starling, Tabitha begins a race against time to unmask ‘D’ before more deaths follow. But as the summer draws to a close and the snow sets in, cutting off Netherlea from the outside world, Tabitha and Nat are forced to face the darkest hours of their lives.
“I was enthralled by the riddles and puzzles leading through many twists and surprises to a satisfying conclusion.” PAULA BRACKSTON"
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