For fans of Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk, Pauline Rowson, Elly Griffiths, Matt Brolly and Simon McCleave.

A BODY ON THE BEACH (BOOK 1, November 2022)

• #96 Amazon Australia

Detective Norman is out of retirement and back on the beat in a rainy Welsh seaside town. Llangwelli might be short on sunshine, but it’s certainly not short on murders… Norman is a bit old-fashioned, but he’s also willing to learn from his band of misfit recruits. He’s asked to mentor a team of misfits in a sleepy Welsh seaside town. But training has barely begun when a woman’s body washes up on the beach at Llangwelli.

It turns out to be local woman Kimberley Lawrence. Missing for over a week, but her husband didn’t report her disappearance. The team’s investigation hits a brick wall — no one will talk, and every suspect seems to have an alibi. Then the discovery of a missing shoe turns the case on its head. It’s going to take all Detective Norman’s experience to whip his band of inexperienced misfits into shape to catch a killer.

THE DETECTIVE

Meet DS Norman Norman. He’s so good they named him twice. He thought his policing days were over when he took early retirement. But then he gets called into Llangwelli Police Department to help train up the new recruits. Out on the west coast of Wales, the town is known as something of a dumping ground for screwups, but Norman believes no copper’s career is ever beyond salvaging, so he’s going to whip these youngsters into shape. Even if it kills him.

THE SETTING

Llangwelli (pronounced Hlangwelly) is a seaside harbour town in West Wales that sits on the edge of a wide, shallow river estuary. Thanks to West Wales’s rainy climate, verdant green hills dotted with cows and sheep make for idyllic surroundings. But that doesn’t mean it’s free from crime — as Norman is about to find out.

A BODY OUT AT SEA (BOOK 2, November 2022)

On a freezing November morning a man jogs down to the shore at a small Welsh beach. He strips off all his clothes and strides out into the icy water. No one knows who he is. But locals say only a fool — or someone with a death wish — would go into the sea at this time of year. With no body, Detective Norman’s young team are baffled. Who was this man? And why would he go into the water that day?

Then builders in town make a gruesome discovery. A skull is found in a shallow grave. Llangwelli Police now have two unsolved deaths on their hands. And things only get stranger when it seems the two are connected…It’s going to take all Detective Norman’s experience to whip his band of misfits into shape to crack the case.

A BODY DOWN THE LANE (BOOK 3, November 2022)

• #41 Amazon Australia

On a cold, late evening in January, Llangwelli Police receive a mysterious 999 call. No-one speaks, and the only sound before the line goes dead is ragged breathing. The call is traced to Dragon Barn Lane, a narrow, pitch-black stretch of road that’s rarely used. Detective Judy Lane is the only officer on hand, and knows she shouldn’t go alone, but what if someone is seriously hurt?

Detective Norman receives a call from Judy at the scene, requesting backup. He races over, only to find a dead man in leathers sitting against a tree, and the young detective unconscious nearby. If the biker is dead, who attacked Judy? And who made the 999 call? Next morning Detective Norman’s team find the body of a young woman by a ditch near the scene of the incident. Llangwelli doesn’t normally see serious crime, but with two dead bodies, something — or someone — very nasty has visited this quiet little harbour town. It’s up to Detective Norman to uncover the truth — before any more of his young team get hurt.

A BODY AT THE FARMHOUSE (BOOK 4, July 2023)

• #43 Amazon UK
• #23 Amazon Australia

It’s not how a groom would expect to find his bride on their wedding day — hanging in the stables at the idyllic farmhouse where they were due to pledge till death do us part. Detective Norman is puzzled. There’s no reason why a vibrant, successful young woman would take her own life on her wedding day. Could it be murder?

Norman soon learns that Tilly wasn’t the happy-go-lucky person she appeared to be — and she isn’t the only one hiding a dark secret. Tilly’s older brother, her best friend, even her groom: the list of suspects quickly grows. Can Detective Norman and his team uncover the culprit before more wedding guests meet a grisly end?

A BODY IN THE COTTAGE (BOOK 5, October 2023)

• #58 Amazon UK
• #46 Amazon Australia

Detective Norman is out of retirement and back on the beat in a rainy Welsh seaside town. Llangwelli might be short on sunshine, but it’s certainly not short on murders… Norman may seem a bit old-fashioned, but he’s always willing to learn from his band of misfit recruits.

A battered body. A missing handbag. A false confession?

The call comes on Monday afternoon. Workmen are about to demolish a row of derelict cottages. They discover a body of a young woman in the bedroom of Number 9. She’s expensively dressed in designer clothes. She’s been badly beaten. No handbag or phone is found. So her identity remains a mystery. Then an elderly man comes forward, who used to live in the cottage. He says he’s the killer. Case closed, it would appear. But there are holes in the old man’s story. And when a second body is discovered in a skip behind the cottages, Detective Norman knows he must find the real killer.