Joel Hames

With a long-term target finally in custody and the appearance of a key witness, DI Zoe Finch might have expected everything else to fall into place. But when the body of a man she knows is found inside the Port of Workington, the investigation takes her team in some unexpected directions, and working with unlikely allies. Why was he killed? Is there a connection with the missing mother of a local businessman? Can Zoe’s team even keep the case in the face of a bitter territorial spat? And as West Cumbria CID race to gather evidence before their prime suspect disappears, has her greatest enemy finally slipped up?

When a group of walkers and wild swimmers finds one of their number drowned in a remote Cumbria beauty spot, it looks like little more than an unfortunate accident. But appearances can be deceptive, and DI Zoe Finch and her team are soon sifting through the seemingly innocent lives of the dead man’s family and fellow walkers, and bringing a host of buried secrets to light. Is there a connection with a notorious local hardman? Are gambling debts involved? Or is someone not who they’re pretending to be? As the days lengthen and summer finally looms, Zoe and her team will have their work cut out finding the truth and unmasking a killer.

DI Zoe Finch has been in Cumbria long enough to know who’s pulling the strings in organised crime, and who’s helping them from within the police. But just as she’s closing in on the evidence to prove it, she finds herself scrambling in the fallout from the murder of a key witness, and struggling to keep the case out of the hands of the very man she suspects of orchestrating it. Can the women rescued from a human trafficking ring help Zoe wrest back control of the investigation? And does a seemingly unrelated murder on the other side of the Lake District hold the key to bringing her enemies to justice? With the team thrust into unfamiliar roles and the whole station under investigation, the stakes have never been higher. Can Zoe and her team hold it together under mounting pressure?

DI Zoe Finch has a big decision to make. Will she stay in Birmingham, clinging to the wreckage of her beloved team as it breaks up and leaves her behind? Or will she follow her partner Carl to Cumbria, a new job and a new life? Carl’s already decided. He’s heading up north, revelling in the lakes and fells and excited about his new job chasing down dodgy coppers. And Zoe’s future colleague DS Aaron Keyes is perplexed. A man has been found dead at Egremont Castle – a man who left a voicemail for him just before he died. Can Aaron track down the killer? Will Carl be able to work out exactly why members of Cumbria police are acting strangely? And will Zoe decide to make the move up north?

Christmas is approaching, but things are rarely quiet for the team at Cumbria CID. DC Nina Kapoor needs a night off, so she persuades DC Tom Willis to skip a romantic evening in with his girlfriend and join her at a local pub for a night of festive karaoke and drinking. The crowd of intoxicated octogenarians sing surprisingly well, but the man lying face-down in the gents isn’t just drunk. He’s dead. DI Zoe Finch is soon on the scene, and as she watches her DCs kick off the investigation, she decides to take a back seat and let them run things for a while. But even among the mistletoe and karaoke, murder is murder, and the pressure’s on. Will Nina and Tom be able to solve the murder in time for Christmas?

For DI Zoe Finch and her partner Carl Whaley, it’s supposed to be a day off. A break from murder and corruption, watching the World’s Biggest Liar competition, held every year in the western fringes of the Lake District. What could possibly go wrong? But death is never far from home. When a woman is found murdered in the dressing room, an innocent day’s entertainment takes on a darker tone. Professional rivalries and personal feuds that have simmered quietly are suddenly at boiling point. And, as befits the event, nobody seems to be telling the truth. Can Zoe and her team untangle the web of lies and find the killer?

Spring should be on the way, but West Cumbria is covered in a thick blanket of snow. When Samira Hasan doesn’t show up for a night at the local cocktail bar, her friend Ella is more annoyed than concerned. But when Samira’s front door is opened by her shady ex-boyfriend, and there’s no sign of Samira herself, she fears the worst. In normal circumstances DI Zoe Finch and her team at Cumbria CID wouldn’t take on a routine missing persons case. But Samira’s workplace is uncomfortably close to the base of operations for Myron Carter, local organised crime boss, and Zoe knows Carter’s friends in the police won’t look kindly on her turning up and rocking the boat. Which makes it too good an opportunity to pass up. But can Zoe find Samira before it’s too late?

Still reeling from the death of one colleague and a near miss for another, DI Zoe Finch could have done with a quiet winter. But when a body is pulled from the ice at a rural beauty spot, Zoe and her team find themselves back in the thick of murder and intrigue. Who is the dead man? Why was he there? And is there a connection with a web of blackmail and corruption that spreads across the county? Someone knows more than they’re letting on, and their silence could cost more lives. But talking can be just as deadly.