Shout in the Dark (51 page)

Archbishop Valdieri from New York is impatient to get the
Pope to the Clinic of the Little Sisters of Grace in Avignon,
France, for treatment. The surgeons at the American-owned clinic
are eager to treat the Pope, but the Archbishop suspects there's a
problem. Matt Rider, an English PI, is on holiday in Avignon with
his girlfriend Zoé. They get talking to a local nurse in Avignon.
She tells them that all is not well at the American clinic up on
the hill. Matt thinks the nurse is crazy -- until her husband calls
with devastating news. To investigate the clinic, Matt needs some
bugs and a phone tap. But he doesn't know that the national
security forces are involved, and he doesn't know that one of the
surgeons will soon want Zoé dead.
Shroud
of the Healer
is the second Matt Rider
detective thriller.

Matt Rider is made an offer that seems too good to miss. Go
to Prague, find some priceless music manuscripts -- and share in a
fortune. Unfortunately, even for a confident backstreet PI, the
clues are rather thin on the ground. All Matt knows is that a young
Jewish girl called Hana Eisler had the manuscripts in Prague in
1942. Using old records from the Helios Music Academy in England,
Matt tracks Hana's movements to a Nazi concentration camp in the
Czech Republic. And there the trail seems to end. The American
violin teacher at the Helios Academy claims to know something about
Hana's family. And so does the Academy dean. Matt decides to
contact Hana in a séance. Taking place in England and the Czech
Republic, Academy of the Dead is an exciting hunt for lost
treasure. There are big stakes to play for -- and maybe not
everyone can be trusted.
Academy of the
Dead
is the third Matt Rider detective
thriller.

Matt and Zoe's baby, Jack,
needs urgent treatment in a New York specialist hospital. Before
treatment can start, Baby Jack is snatched. Has Jack been taken for
ransom, for body parts, or by a powerful sect for indoctrination?
An ex-cop offers to help, as does Simon Urquet (from
Hands of the
Traitor
) and
Archbishop Stephano Valdieri, now ex-Archbishop Stephen Valdieri
(from
Hands
of the Healer
). Finding the baby still alive means a race against
time.
Zoe thinks that
her mother's instinct will lead them to baby Jack, but she has to
admit that she and Matt are, in her words, chasing the wild goose.
Matt believes he has the answer, annoyed with himself for not
putting the clues together sooner. But even that lead seems to
finish at a dead end. And all the time the clock is ticking because
Jack is not getting his urgent treatment -- assuming he's still
alive!
Eyes
of the Innocent
is the fourth Matt Rider
detective thriller.