Cath Staincliffe

A love story, a modern nightmare and an honest and incisive portrayal of a woman who honours her husband's wish to die and finds herself in the dock for murder. When Deborah reluctantly helps her beloved husband Neil end his life and conceals the truth, she is charged with murder. As the trial unfolds and her daughter Sophie testifies against her, Deborah, still reeling with grief, fights to defend her actions. Twelve jurors hold her fate in their hands, if found guilty she will serve a life sentence. Deborah seeks solace in her memories of Neil and their children and the love they shared. An ordinary woman caught up in an extraordinary situation. A finely written page-turner, compelling, eloquent, heart-breaking. The Kindest Thing tackles a controversial topic with skill and sensitivity. A book that begs the question: what would you do?

The Kindest Thing

Grandmother Ruth Sutton writes to the man who she believes killed her daugher Lizzie four years ago.

Letters to My Daughter's Killer

"A daughter's death teenage girl is found brutally murdered in her squalid flat. A mother's love er mother is devastated. She gave her child up to the care system, only to lose her again, and is convinced that the low-life boyfriend is to blame. Two ordinary women, one extraordinary job C Rachel Bailey has dragged herself up from a deprived childhood and joined the Manchester Police. Rachel's boss thinks her new recruit has bags of raw talent but straight-laced DC Janet Scott, her reluctant partner, has her doubts. Together Scott and Bailey must hunt a killer, but a life fighting crime can be no life at all..."

Dead to Me

Newly graduated photography student Lori Maddox spends the year after university travelling and visits China where she finds work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Jo and Tom, who separated when Lori was a toddler, follow her adventures on her blog, 'Lori In The Orient'. Suddenly communication stops and when the silence persists a frantic Jo and Tom report her missing. It is impossible to find out anything from 5,000 miles away so they travel out to Chengdu, a city in the south-western province of Sichuan, to search for their daughter. Landing in a totally unfamiliar country, with no knowledge of the customs or language, and receiving scant help from the local authorities, Jo and Tom are forced to turn detective, following in their daughter's footsteps, tracing the people she mentioned in her posts, interviewing her friends, colleagues and students. It's an unbearably difficult challenge and, as the days pass, the fear that Lori is lost for good grows ever larger.

Half the World Away

Four bystanders in the wrong place at the wrong time. Witnesses to the shocking shooting of a teenage boy. A moment that changes their lives forever. Fiona, a midwife, is plagued by panic attacks and unable to work. Has she the strength to testify? Mike, a delivery driver and family man, faces an impossible decision when his frightened wife forces him to choose - us or the court case. Cheryl, a single-mother, doesn't want her child to grow up in the same climate of fear. Dare she speak out and risk her own life? Zak, a homeless man, offers to talk in exchange for witness protection and the chance of a new start. Ordinary people in an extraordinary situation. Will the witnesses stand firm or be prevented from giving evidence? How will they cope with the emotional trauma of reliving the murder under pitiless cross-examination? A compassionate, suspenseful and illuminating story exploring the real human cost of bearing witness. Praise for Cath Staincliffe: 'A painfully honest exploration of an ordinary family under stress ... A stunning piece of work.' - Anne Cleeves. 'Modest, compassionate... a solid ingenious plotter with a sharp eye for domestic detail.' - Literary Review. 'Complex and satisfying' - The Sunday Times. 'About as good as the British private eye novel gets' - Time Out. 'It's always exciting to see a writer get better and better, and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that' - Val McDermid. 'An engrossing read' - Sunday Telegraph.

Witness

How do you survive the unthinkable? Passengers boarding the 10.35 train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston are bound for work, reunions, holidays and new starts, with no idea that the journey is about to change their lives for ever... Holly has just landed her dream job and Jeff is heading for his first ever work interview. Onboard customer service assistant Naz dreams of better things as he collects rubbish from the passengers. And among the others travelling are Nick with his young family; pensioner Meg setting off on a walking holiday with her dog; Caroline, run ragged by the competing demands of her stroppy teenagers and her demented mother; and Rhona, unhappy at work and desperate to get home. And in the middle of the carriage sits Saheel, carrying a deadly rucksack . . . And in the aftermath, amidst the destruction and desolation, new bonds are formed, new friendships made... and we find hope in the most unlikely of places and among the most unlikely people. 'Cath Staincliffe gets into the heads of ordinary people and makes them extraordinary' Ann Cleeves 'Harrowing and humane. A real knockout' Ian Rankin 'Complex and satisfying' Sunday Times

The Silence Between Breaths

Dead Wrong

Kizimin Katiline Mektuplar

Manchester today. A dead baby. A missing mother. A cradle of secrets. From the author of the Scott and Bailey series, Quiet Acts of Violence is a novel about family and betrayal, injustice and poverty, the ties that bind and those that break us. __________ Has the woman killed her child? Is she at risk to herself? Someone in the neighbourhood of old terraced streets has the answers. But detectives Donna Bell and Jade Bradshaw find lies and obstruction at every turn, in a community living on the edge, ground down by austerity and no hope. A place of broken dreams. Of desperation. And murder. When a stranger crashes into Jade's life, her past comes hurtling back, threatening to destroy her and the world she has carved out for herself. Donna struggles to juggle everything: work, marriage, kids. It's a precarious balancing act, and the rug is about to be pulled from under her. ___________ Praise for Cath Staincliffe: 'A star in the firmament of British crime fiction' Big Issue in the North 'Writing that gives Britcrime its heart, mind and soul' Literary Review 'Sensitive and humane' The Guardian 'Staincliffe writes brilliantly and compassionately about things that matter' Literary Review 'Compassionate, exciting and down-to-earth. Infused also with that rare and precious ingredient: true feeling' Literary Review 'Such a good writer' Marcel Berlins, The Times 'Unique in British crime fiction: truthful, affirmative and exciting. Planted in the real world and looking good on it' Literary Review 'The most grown-up writer in British crime fiction' Jake Kerridge, The Telegraph 'Harrowing and humane' Ian Rankin

Between the Cracks

How far would you go to protect your child? Can you really keep them safe? What if who they are puts them at risk? And what if they have blood on their hands? Teenager Allie Kennaway heads off for prom night, cheered on by her dad Steve and little sister Teagan. But Allie never comes home, beaten to death in an apparent hate crime because of her transgender identity. As police investigate the brutal murder, a crime that has appalled the country, one parent is at her wit's end with her son's behaviour. Are his outbursts and silences hiding something much darker than adolescent mood swings? And if her suspicions are correct, then what does she do? Another parent will fight tooth and nail to save his boy from the full force of the law. After all, blood is thicker than water and everyone should look after their own. But if he succeeds then Allie and her family will never get the justice they deserve. A groundbreaking story of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, in a world of change.

The Girl in the Green Dress

A riveting, sharply observed and thoroughly modern police procedural, Dead to Me features a stellar but unlikely female detective team. Detective Constable Janet Scott is subtle and reliable, a diplomatic thinker with a wry sense of humor. She's put in the time and seen it all, but has no desire for the boss's job—she loves her own too much. Rachel Bailey couldn't be more different—she's energetic, impulsive, and ambitious, and has just been transferred to the Manchester murder squad. Their commander thinks Rachel's intuition could make her a great cop, but has reservations about her shoot-first-think-later approach, so she partners her with Janet. At first, the match seems to have been made somewhere considerably lower than heaven, but when a teenage girl is found brutally murdered, stabbed to death in her squalid flat on a North Manchester housing estate, both detectives realize they must work together to stop a vicious killer. But the case quickly becomes more complicated than it seems, fraught with dangers neither woman could see coming. Eager to make her mark, Rachel's reckless pursuit of the truth could threaten her future on the squad. And an unexpected turn in the investigation forces Janet to face personal demons. No matter the cost, both must race to stop a vicious killer before it's too late in this riveting novel from award-winning author Cath Staincliffe. "It's always exciting to see a writer get better and better, and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that." --Val McDermid

Against the backdrop of Euro '96 and the soundtrack of Oasis, a summer of terror begins. Sal Kilkenny has two very frightened clients on her hands. Debbie Gosforth is the victim of a deranged stalker while teenager Luke Wallace is afraid he might be a murderer as he has, allegedly, stabbed his best friend Ahktar Khan to death. And then the IRA bomb Manchester's Arndale Centre and the city goes up in smoke... Praise for Cath Staincliffe: 'Gritty, intelligent, humane and involving' Big Issue 'Deftly organised, with several surprising twists.' Evening Standard 'Has her finger on the pulse of her city and that rare ability to write about love, motherhood and friendship without sentimentality' Val McDermid 'Modest, compassionate... a solid ingenious plotter with a sharp eye for domestic detail' Literary Review 'Complex and satisfying' The Sunday Times 'about as good as the British private eye novel gets' Time Out

An abandoned chapel burns,. In this part of Manchester, destruction is not unusual. But this time, the body of a man lies inside. And it's down to Scott and Bailey to save them all... Detective Constable Rachel Bailey is struggling to come to terms with huge change, just as her partner, D.C. Janet Scott grapples with a horrifying tragedy. But they must put aside their own troubles if they are to solve this murder investigation. Especially when a second building goes up in flames...

Ruthless

Four bystanders, in the wrong place at the wrong time, witness the shocking murder of a teenage boy. FIONA, a midwife, plagued by panic attacks and unable to work. Has she the strength to testify? MIKE, a family man, faces an impossible decision when his frightened wife forces him to choose - their relationship or the court case. CHERYL, a single mother, doesn't want her child to grow up in the same climate of fear. But should she risk her life to speak out? ZAK, a homeless man, offers to talk in exchange for witness protection and the chance of a new start. Ordinary people in an extraordinary situation.

Fear of Falling

Missing

A community on the brink. An abandoned chapel burns. In this part of Manchester, destruction is not unusual. But this time, the body of a man lies inside. And it's down to Scott and Bailey to save them all... Detective Constable Rachel Bailey is struggling to come to terms with huge change, just as her partner, DC Janet Scott grapples with a horrifying tragedy. But they must put aside their own troubles if they are to solve this murder investigation. Especially when a second building goes up in flames...

Can Sal break the conspiracy of silence that surrounds her latest case? Sal Kilkenny is asked to discover the whereabouts of Jennifer Pickering, disinherited twenty years ago. But it seems that now Jennifer does not want to be found. And as she spends her days tracing Jennifer, Sal's nights are shattered by a dangerous stint with the Neighbour Nuisance Unit on one of Manchester's toughest housing estates. In this highly charged atmosphere it's not surprising when tempers flare... and as properties start to burn, Sal's two cases spiral out of control and events, past and present, collide with deadly intensity. Praise for Cath Staincliffe: 'Gritty, intelligent, humane and involving' Big Issue 'Deftly organised, with several surprising twists.' Evening Standard 'An engrossing read.' Sunday Telegraph 'Real people, real problems... Staincliffe writes brilliantly and compassionately about things that matter. Seriously good.' Literary Review 'Modest, compassionate... a solid ingenious plotter with a sharp eye for domestic detail' Literary Review 'Complex and satisfying' The Sunday Times 'about as good as the British private eye novel gets' Time Out

Stone Cold Red Hot

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ITV3 CRIME THRILLER BOOK CLUB Grandmother Ruth Sutton writes to the man she hates more than anyone else on the planet: the man who she believes killed her daughter Lizzie in a brutal attack four years earlier. Ruth's burden of grief and hatred, has only grown heavier with the passing of time, her avid desire for vengeance ever stronger. In writing to him Ruth hopes to exorcise the corrosive emotions that are destroying her life, to find the truth and with it release and a way forward. Whether she can ever truly forgive him is another matter - but the letters are her last, best hope. Letters To My Daughter's Killer exposes the aftermath of violent crime for an ordinary family and explores fundamental questions of crime and punishment. How do we deal with the very human desire for revenge? If we get justice does reconciliation follow? Can we really forgive those who do us the gravest wrong? Could you?

Janine Lewis is Manchester's first female Detective Chief Inspector. She's also a single mother to three demanding children, and pregnant with a fourth. Her husband left her on the morning she got the promotion after she discovered him in bed with the cleaner. But Janine fought hard to get to the top, and she's determinded to prove herself, especially as she's in charge of her first murder case. The deputy head of a local high school was left to die face down in the mud of his allotment, his stomach slashed. The prime suspect is on the run and an elderly dying man and a seven-year-old child are the only witnesses. This isn't going to be an easy case to crack for the new DCI.

Cath Staincliffe

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