Fox Meridian Series by Niall Teasdale

A spree killer with a purpose? A creative dispute taken to extremes? It’s up to Tara ‘Fox’ Meridian to untangle the mess before more people die. Fresh back from a training visit to Luna City on the Moon, Fox Meridian is called to the murder of the main writer on an internet video show, Murder is My Business. Business has become very cutthroat... moreA spree killer with a purpose? A creative dispute taken to extremes? It’s up to Tara ‘Fox’ Meridian to untangle the mess before more people die. Fresh back from a training visit to Luna City on the Moon, Fox Meridian is called to the murder of the main writer on an internet video show, Murder is My Business. Business has become very cutthroat. While it seems that the case may resolve down to a ratings war between two channels, as the trail of deaths continues, Fox begins to believe that the killer may have a more personal agenda, and that events from her past may be coming back to haunt her. Soon her job and her life are on the line as she races to stop the deaths and save her friend. less

Starting a new job is never easy, but taking up her new role as head of Palladium Security Solutions’ investigative department, Fox Meridian is left wondering whether she is really cut out for this one. Board meetings are boring, politics sets her teeth on edge, and there’s no sign of a need for a detective anywhere... moreStarting a new job is never easy, but taking up her new role as head of Palladium Security Solutions’ investigative department, Fox Meridian is left wondering whether she is really cut out for this one. Board meetings are boring, politics sets her teeth on edge, and there’s no sign of a need for a detective anywhere. But there’s a serial killer working the elite set in Manhattan and one of Fox’s few friends, Helen Dillan, is in Internal Affairs’ sights for leaking sensitive crime scene information. They think she caught the wrong man, a man who claims he committed multiple murders because he was possessed by a demon, and that the original killer is at work again. It falls to Fox, Kit, and Dillan to uncover the truth, which is almost as strange as any demon possession could be. less

A serial killer has murdered eleven people over the last four years, the link between the crimes unnoticed until Fox Meridian’s AI personal assistant, Kit, makes the connection. The only thing which seems to connect the victims is LifeFit, a plug-in application which allows users to find virtual exercise companions over the most popular social network in the world, LifeWeb. All the victims vanished while out running, their bodies turning up days later... moreA serial killer has murdered eleven people over the last four years, the link between the crimes unnoticed until Fox Meridian’s AI personal assistant, Kit, makes the connection. The only thing which seems to connect the victims is LifeFit, a plug-in application which allows users to find virtual exercise companions over the most popular social network in the world, LifeWeb. All the victims vanished while out running, their bodies turning up days later. Every one of them has been tortured to death. The killer is back in New York after visiting Cape Town and Berlin, and the bodies are piling up. But as the investigation stalls with no clues to the mad man’s identity, Fox finds herself called upon by her estranged parents who want her to find a missing teenage girl who may have been kidnapped and taken into the wastelands of the Southern Protectorate. less

When Marie lands what seems to be the chance of a lifetime, starring in a new, rather low-budget, action movie based on the Whitechapel murders, she is thrilled. But when sex workers begin being murdered, their bodies mutilated in a chillingly familiar fashion it falls to Fox Meridian to hunt down the killer. But it seems that the new Jack has a few tricks up his sleeve which the old one did not. He lives no evidence behind and seems able to get into places no human should be able to... moreWhen Marie lands what seems to be the chance of a lifetime, starring in a new, rather low-budget, action movie based on the Whitechapel murders, she is thrilled. But when sex workers begin being murdered, their bodies mutilated in a chillingly familiar fashion it falls to Fox Meridian to hunt down the killer. But it seems that the new Jack has a few tricks up his sleeve which the old one did not. He lives no evidence behind and seems able to get into places no human should be able to. And he seems to be looking for Marie Jane Kelly, the last woman the real Jack murdered, and the character played by Marie in the film. less

Emergence: noun. 1. The process of becoming visible after being concealed. 2. The process of coming into existence or prominence. 3. In philosophy, art, and systems theory, a process where complex systems can exhibit properties none of its constituent parts possess. Sometimes, when something emerges, you’re better off not knowing... moreEmergence: noun. 1. The process of becoming visible after being concealed. 2. The process of coming into existence or prominence. 3. In philosophy, art, and systems theory, a process where complex systems can exhibit properties none of its constituent parts possess. Sometimes, when something emerges, you’re better off not knowing. A routine security operation requiring no input from the investigation division turns into a hunt for a malicious hacker when one of the world’s most popular musicians is targeted. Fox Meridian and her team must fly to Japan to keep Nishi Sakura and her girlfriend, Charlie Iberson, safe from a skilled, manipulative man known only as Minotaur. But as organised crime becomes involved and an old enemy resurfaces, the stakes for Fox and everyone around her have never been higher. less

Fox has undergone a pretty big change in her life. For one thing, her batteries need charging each night, but her confidence has taken a hit too. When you’re questioning the choices you’ve made, a good way to start is at the beginning. Fox returns to Topeka where people are dying due to faulty implanted organs. Meanwhile, Yuriko Fukui has been looking into a potential case of corporate espionage concerning one of MarTech’s subsidiaries, BioTek Microtechnologies... moreFox has undergone a pretty big change in her life. For one thing, her batteries need charging each night, but her confidence has taken a hit too. When you’re questioning the choices you’ve made, a good way to start is at the beginning. Fox returns to Topeka where people are dying due to faulty implanted organs. Meanwhile, Yuriko Fukui has been looking into a potential case of corporate espionage concerning one of MarTech’s subsidiaries, BioTek Microtechnologies. Someone has beaten them to market with the world’s first bioroid, an artificially manufactured, biological entity. The ‘Ghost Dolls’ are strange beings: beautiful women with plastic skin and far beyond the technology their manufacturers are thought to possess. Yuriko quickly finds herself at odds with her brother, the leader of the most powerful yakuza organisation in Japan. When Fox joins Yuriko on the case, they soon uncover the truth behind the Ghost Dolls, and it’s something far more horrific than the selling of corporate secrets. less

Artificial life is a hot-button topic in the summer of 2061. BioTek Microtechnologies have revealed Eve, the first real bioroid, and the rights of AIs and other infomorphs are on everyone’s mind, at least partially because MarTech now has the capability to digitise the human brain. Fox Meridian, the first human ever to become an infomorph, hates politics, but she’s right in the middle of with only a small case of apocalypse to keep her from getting bored... moreArtificial life is a hot-button topic in the summer of 2061. BioTek Microtechnologies have revealed Eve, the first real bioroid, and the rights of AIs and other infomorphs are on everyone’s mind, at least partially because MarTech now has the capability to digitise the human brain. Fox Meridian, the first human ever to become an infomorph, hates politics, but she’s right in the middle of with only a small case of apocalypse to keep her from getting bored. Around the world, people are being infected by a meme which suggests that Halley’s Comet has appeared in the sky to mark the end of the world. There are mass suicides and shootings. Protestors are claiming that bioroids are here to save the world, or destroy humanity. Up in space, rumours abound of aliens who have followed the comet and are watching from invisible ghost ships. Behind it all, it seems like someone is spreading dangerous memetic packages. Someone, somewhere is manufacturing Armageddon. less

With the new private policing contracts coming in at the start of the 2062, Fox Meridian can finally relax and devote all her time to her new position as the terrorism liaison for Palladium Security Solutions. She may have no boyfriend and no life, but at least she’s back doing what she wants to do: investigate crimes... moreWith the new private policing contracts coming in at the start of the 2062, Fox Meridian can finally relax and devote all her time to her new position as the terrorism liaison for Palladium Security Solutions. She may have no boyfriend and no life, but at least she’s back doing what she wants to do: investigate crimes. When a highly conservative vote broker, Thomas Jefferson Winsford, is found dead in a BDSM club, Fox is called in due to the sensitivity of the case, and it’s made more sensitive because Naomi Lind, Fox’s friend and the head of the Church of Saint Nicholas was Winsford’s client and the one who found the body. With Naomi the obvious choice for the killer, Fox must rake through the muck of sex, drugs, and high-level politics to uncover the truth behind Winsford’s murder. And stop the killer before even more bodies pile up. less

For a long time, humans have observed Mars through telescopes and seen evidence of life, even of complex civilisations. When first machines and then humans actually got to the Red Planet, they discovered a dead rock with a thin, oxygen-free atmosphere, but the hope of discovering some form of life there just would not die. Now a geology team working in the Hellas Planitia region has discovered evidence that there used to be a great civilisation on the dead world... moreFor a long time, humans have observed Mars through telescopes and seen evidence of life, even of complex civilisations. When first machines and then humans actually got to the Red Planet, they discovered a dead rock with a thin, oxygen-free atmosphere, but the hope of discovering some form of life there just would not die. Now a geology team working in the Hellas Planitia region has discovered evidence that there used to be a great civilisation on the dead world. Or maybe it’s not so dead, given that the team who found the antediluvian city have gone missing, leaving behind videos which suggest they were killed by Martians. With the American government worried about public reaction and the possibility of living Martians, Fox Meridian, the world’s first and only human infomorph, finds herself being transmitted to Mars to head up the investigation of what she is sure is a hoax. It must be a hoax, right? There are no Martians. Or are there? less

The storm season starts early in 2062, and it leaves behind the body of a woman who appears to have walked out of her house to her death. Newly promoted detective Janice Nebbs and her gynoid partner Mackenzie are called in when a body is found in a car park. The young, female victim is found wearing a pair of plastic devil horns and the cause of death is the most bizarre thing Nebbs has ever heard of... moreThe storm season starts early in 2062, and it leaves behind the body of a woman who appears to have walked out of her house to her death. Newly promoted detective Janice Nebbs and her gynoid partner Mackenzie are called in when a body is found in a car park. The young, female victim is found wearing a pair of plastic devil horns and the cause of death is the most bizarre thing Nebbs has ever heard of. As the two cases connect, Fox Meridian, Nebbs, and Mackenzie find themselves on the trail of a perverted serial killer in possession of a truly horrific murder weapon: The Devil. less