Lambert and Hook

Martin Beaumont is the uncompromising owner of a successful vineyard that lies in the peaceful Gloucestershire countryside. He has built the company steadily over the years, with a small but dedicated team by his side. However, he is forceful with his views on the business, much to the resentment of his more senior members of staff. So when he is found dead in his car, DS Hook and the rest of the team don’t have to look very far to find their suspects.

When the committee members of the Oldford Literary Festival all receive anonymous letters telling them to resign or die, it marks the start of an unusual case for Chief Superintendent Lambert and DS Hook. All of the members identify one man as being capable of such a thing: Peter Preston, a self-important cultural snob who is in disagreement with the head of the festival, Marjorie Dooks, over what he sees as the dumbing down of the events programme. But could a disagreement over a literary festival actually lead to murder?

Dennis Cooper is one of the few full-time resident National Trust curators in England and lives with his wife in the grounds of the spectacular Westbourne Gardens, which receives thousands of visitors each year. On the face of things, Dennis lives a perfect life and has a dream job, but this idyllic setting is riven with dark secrets, and it isn't long before foul play draws Lambert and Hook into this troubled Eden.

Seven-year-old Lucy Gibson can barely contain her excitement when she learns that the funfair has come to town and Matt, her mother's new boyfriend, has agreed to take her. Despite her slight uneasiness in Matt's company, she readily goes off with him one evening. The next morning, Chief Superintendent Lambert briefs DS Bert Hook and DS Ruth David on the disappearance of a young seven-year-old local girl from a funfair the previous evening.

Twin Lakes is a complex of holiday homes in a scenic part of England. “Rest Assured”, says the sign at its entrance. And the people fortunate enough to occupy the luxury homes are indeed able to relax in a beautiful setting. Then a series of mysterious threatening notes are delivered to one of the lakeside homes. DS Bert Hook conducts an informal investigation and the notes cease to appear. All is peaceful once more until a brutal death shatters the peace.

Skeletons have a habit of revealing themselves eventually.... When a human skeleton is discovered on the boundary of a 20-year-old property development, it seems there are a large number of people who may know the identity of the corpse and how it got there. But 20 years is a long time, and those individuals were very different people back then. Skeletons are being revealed in all senses, and there are many prominent local figures who are beginning to feel uncomfortable and afraid.

A successful British television producer who fancies himself a Hollywood mogul, Sam Jackson makes enemies easily and delights in the fact. It is no great surprise that such a man should meet a violent death. Detective Chief Superintendent Lambert and Detective Sergeant Hook deduce that the person who killed him is almost certainly to be found among the company of actors who are shooting a series of detective mysteries in rural Herefordshire.