Morpuss, Guy – The Bell Bookshop

A trial in three acts

Emma — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

‘A brilliant and entertaining read’ – B.A. Paris’My verdict: all rise for a future book of the year’ – JANICE HALLETT’Charles Konig is a wonderful character’ – IAN MOOREA trial is rather like a play.We wear our costumes. We perform to the audience.And on a good day no-one gets murdered.Six nights a week the cast of the smash-hit play Daughter of the Revolution performs to a sold-out audience. A thrilling story of forbidden marriage and a secret love child, the critics say it’ll run for years. That is until one night the third act ends not in applause but in death, when leading lady Alexandra Dyce is beheaded live on stage.Every cast member has a motive, but it is the dead woman’s co-star – and ex-husband – Hollywood legend Leo Lusk who is charged with the crime. When defence barrister Charles Konig is brought in last minute, he knows this ought to be the case of a lifetime. But Charles would rather be on his holiday trekking up K2, and he isn’t interested in celebrities, especially ones that seem to be mysteriously trying to derail their own defence. But as he and his co-counsel New York lawyer Yara Ortiz sift through the evidence, it becomes clear that clues may lie in the play itself. And that Charles’s only chance of victory is to identify the real murderer…A delightfully clever legal mystery with as many layers as an onion. Perfect for readers of Janice Hallett, Tom Hindle, Rob Rinder and Richard Osman.

Black Lake Manor

Emma — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

‘It gripped me for a week. Incredible!’ JANICE HALLETT’Mind-bendingly brilliant. Agatha Christie on steroids!’ TIM GLISTER’An endless inventive murder mystery’ ALEX PAVESI’Original and hugely addictive’ B.A. PARISA locked room. A brutal murder. And a killer who can unwind time…A DEAD BILLIONAIRE Part-time constable Ella Manning never thought she’d have to investigate her ex-fiance ´’s murder. But that’s exactly what happens when tech entrepreneur Lincoln Shan is found dead in his study the morning after a controversial product launch – with the door locked from the inside. A RAGING STORM Trapped inside Shan’s mansion above the remote town of Black Lake, it’s up to Ella to catch the killer. But Black Lake is no ordinary place, and its strange history will make this the most baffling murder case of her career. SIX HOURS TO FIND A KILLER Because some of the town’s inhabitants have the power to rewind time – and someone is using it to protect a murderer. Just as Ella is sure she has identified the culprit, the last six hours are undone. With no memory of what she discovered before, her investigation begins again with very different results. But which conclusion was true? The race is on to find the killer before they strike again – and time is not on her side…A must-read for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, The Sanatorium and And Then There Were None, Black Lake Manor will keep you feverishly turning the pages all night long.

Black Lake Manor

Emma — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘It gripped me for a week. Incredible!’ JANICE HALLETT, author of THE TWYFORD CODEAn endlessly inventive murder mystery’ ALEX PAVESI, author of EIGHT DETECTIVES’Mind-bendingly brilliant. Agatha Christie on steroids!’ TIM GLISTER, author of RED CORONAA LOCKED ROOM. A BRUTAL MURDER.AND A KILLER WHO CAN UNWIND TIME…In the former mining town of Black Lake, there is an old story about a shipwreck with only one survivor. His descendants have a unique ability: once in their lives – and only once – they can unwind the events of the previous six hours.More than two hundred years later, part-time police constable Ella Manning is attending a party at Black Lake Manor, the cliff-top mansion belonging to the local billionaire. When a raging storm sweeps in from the Pacific, she and several other guests find themselves trapped.And when their host is discovered brutally murdered in his study the next morning, the door locked from the inside, they turn to her to solve the crime.Pushing her detective skills to the limit, against the odds Ella is sure she has identified the killer… but then someone undoes time. With no memory of what she discovered before, her investigation begins again, with very different results. Which of her suspects is guilty? And is there something even more sinister she is yet to uncover?Can she solve the mystery before time runs out… again?A must-read for fans of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, The Sanatorium and And Then There Were None, Black Lake Manor will keep you feverishly turning the pages all night long!

Five Minds

Emma — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

‘An addictive read that will remain with you long after you emerge from the rabbit hole’ – THE TIMES’A marvellously twisty whodunnit [with] the brutal, clockwork ingenuity of an Agatha Christie mystery’ – FT ‘A pacy, exciting and most unusual crime story’ – GUARDIAN________________________________________SHARING A BODY CAN BE MURDER The Earth’s spiralling population has finally been controlled. Lifespans are limited to eighty years, except for those who make an extreme choice: to become a commune. Five minds sharing one body, each living for four hours at a time. But with a combined lifespan of nearly 150 years. Alex, Kate, Mike, Sierra and Ben have already spent twenty-five years together in what was once Mike’s body, their frequent personality clashes leading to endless bickering, countless arguments, and getting themselves stranded on a Russian Arctic freighter. Wanting to buy upgrades for their next host body, they decide to travel to a Death Park where time can be gambled like money. But things go very wrong when Kate accepts a dangerous offer, and one of them disappears. Someone is trying to kill off members of the commune. But why? Is one of them responsible? Or is an outsider playing a deadly game? It’s hard enough to catch a murderer. It’s almost impossible when you might be sharing a body with them… This brilliant murder mystery blends classic crime with speculative fiction in a stunning debut.______________________________________ ‘This clever, twisty debut really delivers. Gripping, well-written and intriguing on every level’ – SARAH PEARSE’Brilliantly inventive. If you liked The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, you’ll love this’ – EVE SMITH’Morpuss is set to become a powerhouse in speculative crime. A feast of a book’ – HELEN FIELDS ‘A whip-smart, searing debut, which grinds into the mind like cursed clockwork’ – MATT WESOLOWSKI ‘A mind-stretching and irresistible premise deftly spun into a twisty, page-turning action-thriller’ – PHILIPPA EAST ‘Consider my single mind blown! An astonishing and original concept, deftly executed’ – DAVID JACKSON ‘A mind-bendingly original debut. Nothing short of a cross-genre masterpiece’ – ADAM CHRISTOPHER ‘The world-building of Gibson with the pace of The Running Man. A fantastic ride’ – TIM GLISTER