Dead In The Morning (23 page)

“I hope they sell that house,” said Patrick, getting up. He knocked his pipe out into the ashes of the fire. “It’s packed with grim associations for them now.”

“What about Alec Mackenzie?”

“He’s going back to Canada. It seems he’s wanted to for years, but his mother was against it. I suppose she thought her past would find her out if she did. He thinks his kids will have more opportunity over there, and there’s his sister, too.”

“Canada’s large enough. I’d have thought Mrs Mackenzie could have started again in another part of it,” said Jane.

“She would have, if she’d known what lay in store for her, no doubt,” said Patrick dryly. “Come on, Jane, time for bed. That nephew of mine will have you up at dawn, if I know him. I don’t want Michael hounding me for letting you get exhausted in his absence.”

“He’ll be back next week,” Jane said. She stood up and stretched, and her eyes darkened as she thought about her husband. Patrick regarded her affectionately. Michael was very nearly worthy of her, in his view, and that was praise indeed.

“Well, it hasn’t been too dull for you, having me to stay, has it?” he said. He plumped up the cushion in his chair, put the guard in front of the fire, and waited for her to leave the room ahead of him.

“Oh no, brother dear,” said Jane. “It has not been dull.”

(in order of first publication)

These titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

Published by House of Stratus

Published by House of Stratus

Cast For Death Sam Irwin, actor, is found dead in the River Thames. It appears to be suicide. But why should he have taken his own life shortly before opening in a new play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon? Dr. Patrick Grant, a friend of Irwin, manages to link the seemingly unconnected occurrences of the death of a dog, a further suicide, and a series of art robberies in coming to an conclusion. That, however, is not what is seems, being only the prelude to a massive deception. Grant himself is threatened, and unless he can escape unscathed from a concert at the Festival Hall, the secret of Irwin’s death will die with him.

Dead In The Morning Imagine an old lady who was hated because of her arrogance and cruelty towards her children, and whose lives she dominated, becoming a murder victim. But it is the housekeeper who is found dead. Had a mistake been made and the wrong woman killed? Dr. Patrick Grant uses his powers of logic and deduction to determine this is not the case, but he can only prove it at the expense of incriminating an innocent person. How does he solve this particular conundrum?

Grave Matters Amelia Brinton, a retired headmistress of a top girl’s school, appears to have accidently fallen to her death in Greece. Her friend, a Miss Forest, also meets her death having been pushed down stairs in the British Museum. Dr. Patrick Grant connects the two events and his investigations lead him to a quiet backwater village in Hampshire. Yet more mysteries unfold; a dog drowns in shallow water, there is a case of food poisoning, and finally a house appears to be haunted. There is then another murder. What connects these events and why was Amelia Brinton killed. It takes Grant’s full powers of logic and deduction, with a little help from the police, to get to the bottom of what is a spine tingling mystery and ultimate crime story.

Mortal Remains Dr. Patrick Grant does not believe that Felix Lomax died accidentally. The unfortunate Lomax was thought to be lecturing on a luxury cruise liner, but is found washed ashore on a lonely beach in Crete. Grant’s investigations take him upon a trail which eventually leads to the tombs of Mycenae, where he ends up risking his own life in an effort to determine the truth.

Silent Witness The Austrian Alpine ski resort of Greutz is the scene of rivalry between an English party and some new arrivals. The tension mounts with the weather closing in, when blizzards envelope the resort and avalanches threaten. Dr. Patrick Grant’s particular powers of logic and reasoning are needed, however, when a member of the party is discovered murdered. Why should a seemingly insignificant individual become a victim?

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