Maddie Ives Series by Charlie Gallagher, Antonia Beamish

A young woman’s body is left in a metal container in a remote location. The killer is careful to position her under a camera that links to his smartphone. He likes to look back at his work.HE IS WATCHING HER.BUT SHE ISN’T DEAD.So he will return to finish the job. He can barely contain his excitement at the thought of getting to do it all over again. But he must be careful. He cannot rush. Rushing makes you careless.Detective Maddie Ives is new to the area... moreA young woman’s body is left in a metal container in a remote location. The killer is careful to position her under a camera that links to his smartphone. He likes to look back at his work.HE IS WATCHING HER.BUT SHE ISN’T DEAD.So he will return to finish the job. He can barely contain his excitement at the thought of getting to do it all over again. But he must be careful. He cannot rush. Rushing makes you careless.Detective Maddie Ives is new to the area. She is handed a missing person report: a young woman with a drink problem who’s been reported missing fifteen times. It looks like a waste of time. But DS Ives has a bad feeling about the woman’s disappearance.DI Harry Blaker is called to a hit and run of an elderly man left to die on a quiet country road. There is no motive and it looks like a tragic accident. But he’s been working Major Crime long enough to know that something isn’t quite right.The two officers find their investigations intertwine and they will need to work together.BUT THEY MUST WORK FAST. TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR THE WOMAN IN THE CONTAINER.And the killer has already identified his next target. less

Grace Hughes: kicked to the bathroom floor by her partner, her back and side aching from where he slammed the door on her frail body, fighting to regain her breath, she can no longer ignore a simple truth:SHE MUST LEAVE OR HE WILL KILL HERGrace is a prisoner in her own home but she has a plan to get free. Detective Sergeant Maddie Ives is going to help her. Maddie now works with a team specialising in getting abused women to safety... moreGrace Hughes: kicked to the bathroom floor by her partner, her back and side aching from where he slammed the door on her frail body, fighting to regain her breath, she can no longer ignore a simple truth:SHE MUST LEAVE OR HE WILL KILL HERGrace is a prisoner in her own home but she has a plan to get free. Detective Sergeant Maddie Ives is going to help her. Maddie now works with a team specialising in getting abused women to safety. She tells Grace to keep a diary, to write everything down so it forms part of the compelling evidence needed to send her abuser to prison.The detective doesn’t know how bad it’s got. Grace hasn’t been completely honest. But Grace wants to tell her everything, and Maddie will get her safe.Maddie has a lot on her mind. A dead boy in a bath, a car bomber who wants to make a statement, and the return of a scarred DI Harry Blaker.Can he and Maddie stop the bomber, find a killer and get Grace safe – whether she helps herself or not?GRACE’S TIME IS RUNNING OUT. SHE MUST ESCAPE OR DIE. less

Saturday morning. A rare day off for Detective Maddie Ives. She’s about to have a relaxing shower with her boyfriend Vince when she gets the call: There’s been another one . . .Ron and Sandy Blackman’s brutalised bodies are found in the hallway of their isolated rural home. They’ve been stabbed multiple times; Ron’s hands are tied tightly behind his back; Sandy has several fingernails ripped out. The safe has been forced open... moreSaturday morning. A rare day off for Detective Maddie Ives. She’s about to have a relaxing shower with her boyfriend Vince when she gets the call: There’s been another one . . .Ron and Sandy Blackman’s brutalised bodies are found in the hallway of their isolated rural home. They’ve been stabbed multiple times; Ron’s hands are tied tightly behind his back; Sandy has several fingernails ripped out. The safe has been forced open.This is the second house of horrors that Maddie and her team have been called out to in a matter of days.Four days earlier, single mother Maria was also stabbed to death in her own home — with the same murder weapon.Maddie’s partner Vince was first on the scene. He finds Maria’s traumatised daughter trapped under the floorboards.Jade saw everything — but can remember nothing.Maddie is convinced these aren’t robberies gone wrong. These two families were specifically targeted, tortured for information. But what secrets was the killer so desperate to find out?The key to the mystery lies with eleven-year-old Jade. Maddie and her team are in a race against time to find out the truth before Jade’s memories come back . . . and the killer returns to silence her forever. less