Cath Staincliffe – författare

A daughter''s deathA teenage girl is found, brutally murdered in her squalid flat.A mother''s loveHer mother is devastated. She gave her child up to the care system, only to lose her again, and is convinced that the drug-pusher boyfriend is to blame.Two ordinary women, one extraordinary job DC 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 doubts.Together Scott and Bailey must hunt a killer, but a life fighting crime can be no life at all...

The Journey’s Inn, Lark’s Estate, Manchester. Three bodies have been found, stabbed to death in their beds. The husband and father of two of the victims has fled. The police are in a race against time to find him – especially when they discover his two young sons are also missing...Manchester Metropolitan police station. Having survived a near-fatal attack, DC Janet Scott is quietly falling apart. And her best friend and colleague DC Rachel Bailey is reeling from a love affair gone bad. DCI Gill Murray is trying to keep the team on track, but her own family problems are threatening tip her over the edge.Finding the desperate man is their top priority. But none of them knows where he is going or what he intends to do next. Or what will they have to do to stop him...BASED ON THE HIT TV SERIES SCOTT & BAILEY

Juggling the school run with private investigating, Sal Kilkenny''s life is a strange mix of the dramatic with the domestic.Sal has two new clients:Jimmy Achebe wants her to confirm his suspicions of his wife''s infidelity and Agnes Donlan fears for her friend Lily, who has undergone a swift decline in her new nursing home.Sal soon finds herself in treacherous territory which threatens to impinge on her private life...Sal Kilkenny SeriesLooking For Trouble (Book 1)Go Not Gently (Book 2)Dead Wrong (Book 3)Stone Cold Red Hot (Book 4)Towers of Silence (Book 5)Bitter Blue (Book 6)Missing (Book 7)Crying Out Loud (Book 8)Praise for Cath Staincliffe:''A book about courage and compromise, about how sometimes it''s kinder and braver to lie. Stunning.''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

She''s a single parent. A private eye. And liking it. Until, that is, Mrs Hobbs turns up asking Sal Kilkenny to find her missing son.Sal''s search takes her through the Manchester underworld, a wasteland of deprivation and petty theft, of well-heeled organised crime and, ultimately, murder. Would she have taken the job on if she had known what she was getting herself into?Actually, yes. Sal is on fire with a desire to see justice done and to avenge the death of a young lad whose only crime was knowing too much...This is the first Sal Kilkenny mystery, serialised on BBC Radio 4''s Woman''s Hour.Sal Kilkenny SeriesLooking For Trouble (Book 1)Go Not Gently (Book 2)Dead Wrong (Book 3)Stone Cold Red Hot (Book 4)Towers of Silence (Book 5)Bitter Blue (Book 6)Missing (Book 7)Crying Out Loud (Book 8)Praise for Cath Staincliffe:''A book about courage and compromise, about how sometimes it''s kinder and braver to lie.Stunning.''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

''Stunning'' - Ann CleevesEvery parent''s worst gap year nightmare...After graduating, Lori Maddox heads off travelling and arrives in China where she finds work as a private English tutor. Back in Manchester, her parents Jo and Tom follow her adventures on her blog. Suddenly communication stops. When the silence persists a frantic Jo and Tom report her missing. But it''s impossible to find out anything from so far away, so they travel to Chengdu 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. It''s an unbearably difficult challenge and, as the days pass, the fear that Lori is lost for good grows ever larger...Praise for Cath Staincliffe:''Harrowing and humane. A real knockout'' Ian Rankin''It''s always exciting to see a writer get better and better and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that'' Val McDermid''Remarkable depth ... The most grown-up writer in British crime fiction'' Telegraph

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

''This is a wonderful novel, powerful, humane and moving. It''s also one of the best police procedurals I''ve read this year'' Ann Cleeves-----Can you really keep your child 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 fights tooth and nail to save his boy from the full force of the law. 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.------Praise for Cath Staincliffe''Staincliffe deserves to be better known. Her books make her readers question how they would respond in a challenging situation'' Ann Cleeves (Best Books of The Week)''Harrowing and humane. A real knockout'' Ian Rankin''It''s always exciting to see a writer get better and better and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that'' Val McDermid''Remarkable depth ... The most grown-up writer in British crime fiction'' Telegraph''Complex and satisfying'' Sunday Times''Her finest novel yet, emotionally unsparing, powerful, humane and moving . . . This is a timely, brave and brilliant book'' Crime Review

''Gripping'' Mail on SundayWhat if your child ends up hurting those you love?Lydia and Bel have been best friends for years, from wild teenage days all the way through to motherhood. Bel becomes pregnant by accident and has a fraught relationship with daughter Freya, while Lydia and love-of-her-life Mac, after failed fertility treatment, choose to adopt. Gorgeous toddler Chloe challenges them more than either of them had ever expected and as a teenager her behaviour escalates increasingly out of control, pushing their marriage, and Lydia and Bel''s relationship, to breaking point.A harrowing and heart-breaking story of the splinters that can tear mothers and daughters, husbands and wives - and friends - apart.Praise for Cath Staincliffe:''''This powerful, often harrowing story will move you to tears'' My Weekly''Harrowing and humane. A real knockout'' Ian Rankin''It''s always exciting to see a writer get better and better and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that'' Val McDermid''Powerful, complex and utterly gripping'' Sunday Mirror''An intelligent and emotionally engaging moral workout'' Daily Telegraph''Cath Staincliffe gets into the heads of ordinary people and makes them extraordinary'' Ann Cleeves''Complex and satisfying'' Sunday Times

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

A missing schoolgirl, a middle-aged recluse, an exploited teenager. Lives thrown into chaos and set on collision course. With the police in hot pursuit. Scarlett is dancing in the school talent show tomorrow. Nana, who Scarlett lives with since Mum died, reckons Scarlett will be on Strictly at this rate. Except Scarlett doesn''t make it home from school. She''s abducted by a man she never imagined she''d see again. A man on the police''s most wanted list. Her dad. Ron has made a living as a house and pet sitter since quitting his career on the front line in the fire service. He''s currently looking after a place deep in the Derbyshire Peaks. The solitude suits him. And managing animals is so much simpler than coping with other people. Dylan''s a ''cuckoo'', dealing drugs on the county line, moving from nest to nest, picking out people who daren''t say no. Keeping his head down, one step ahead of the law. So far. But now everything''s falling apart.DS Laura O''Neil is running on empty after nights dealing with her teething toddler. But Laura is driving the hunt for Scarlett and knows that every minute counts. Any delay, any mistake might cost Scarlett her life. A devastating prospect.PC Ahmed Ali discovers a seriously injured man in a drug den and chases his suspected attacker across the hills. Ahmed is determined to bring him to justice. But fate has other plans in store.A race against time, played out in the brooding wilderness, the limestone gorges and gritstone edges of the Peak District. Themes of escape and entrapment, of shifting loyalties and new alliances, of violence, fear and love, resilience, kindness and hope.

Seven original radio dramas by award-winning crime writer Cath Staincliffe, featuring heir hunters, a genealogist and an undercover cop who must untangle family mysteriesCath Staincliffe is best known as the creator of the hit TV series Blue Murder, as well as for her ‘Scott and Bailey’ books and ‘Sal Kilkenny’ crime novels. This full cast drama collection features the five gripping dramas in her ‘Legacy’ series, together with a standalone mystery and a three-part thriller, all specially written for BBC Radio.These dramas feature a stellar line-up including Maxine Peake, Tony Mooney, William Ash, Claire Keelan, Jo Hartley, Suranne Jones, Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, Esh Alladi and Matthew McNulty.Legacy – Ex-police officer Dan and his ruthless sister Rachel are probate detectives, tracking down the rightful heirs to unclaimed estates. As they delve into the past, they uncover long-buried secrets…Legacy: Blood in the Mountains – When Henry Gaunt dies, Dan and Rachel trace his family tree back to the Spanish Civil War, where Henry’s father George died fighting alongside his cousin, Eric. Is Eric still alive, and could he be the heir they’re looking for?Legacy: Eden – Digging into the records to find Gordon Willshaw’s kin, Jo and Rachel are led to 1950s Kenya and the terrible events of the Mau Mau rebellion.Legacy: Suspicious Minds – The search for an heir to Petra Oster’s estate takes Dan and Rachel to 1980s East Berlin. It soon becomes clear that she escaped to Britain to erase her past – but what dark truths was she hiding?Legacy: High Green Walls – Discovering that deceased 73-year-old recluse Susan Peller was once a successful artist with a twin sister, Barbara, Dan and Rachel travel to America to find her fortune and hunt for her heir.Look Sharp – Genealogist Karen Sharp finds herself in danger – and forced to face her own fears – when she sets about untangling a family mystery.Undercover: Close to Home – Hoping to find out what happened to Ben Curtis’s wife, who went missing a year ago, policewoman Grace goes undercover as a live-in nanny at the family home...CreditsWritten by Cath StaincliffeDirected by Nadia MolinariLegacyCast: Maxine Peake, Tony Mooney, Thomas Rolinson, Daniel Rogers, Lowri Evans, Eileen O''Brien, Fiona Clarke, Claude CloseLegacy: Blood in the MountainsCast: Claire Keelan, William Ash, Tom Hughes, Steven Hoyle, Russell Dixon, Eithne Browne, Russell RichardsonLegacy: EdenCast: Jo Hartley, William Ash, Alexandra Mathie, Olivia Cooke, Henry Devas, Yusra Warsama, Hugh SimonLegacy: Suspicious MindsCast: Jo Hartley, William Ash, Conrad Nelson, Lisa Brookes, Fiona Clarke, Sarah McDonald Hughes, Jack LordLegacy: High Green WallsCast: Claire Keelan, William Ash, Russell Dixon, Kellie Shirley, Ellie Meigan Rose, Malcolm Raeburn, Jonathan Keeble, Fiona ClarkeLook SharpCast: Suranne Jones, Jeff Hordley, David Hargreaves, Deborah McAndrew, Danielle Henry, Julie WestwoodUndercover: Close to HomeCast: Ntombizodwa Ndlovu, Esh Alladi, Matthew McNulty, Bebe Massey, Tareq Al-Jeddal, Christine Bottomley, Emma Cunniffe, Kymberley Cochrane, Lula Marsh, Jessica Bellamy & Esh Alladi© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd