Joel Hames – författare

She’s solved her first murder with the help of her new team, averted a potential riot, and is starting to learn who she can trust inside Cumbria Police – and who she can’t. But when a businessman and former miner is found dead at a new mine that’s the focus of local protest, Zoe is presented with a new challenge. Her boss is trying to play the death down, and she’s being encouraged to ignore leads by colleagues whose motives seem increasingly suspicious. Zoe’s sure they’re wrong. But as an outsider who knows little about the town’s history or grudges that stretch back decades, can she get to the bottom of the crime and prevent the killer striking again?

Zoe's learning to trust her team, even if they do have a tendency to get themselves into dangerous situations. And finally, the sun is beginning to shine. But when a competitor in a local fell race is found dead near an isolated cairn, Zoe finds herself navigating an unfamiliar landscape. From the rough and competitive world of the fell runners, through the local business community, to the exclusive Bassenthwaite Manor Hotel, people are keeping secrets from her – and not all of her colleagues seem keen for her to unearth them. With the killer willing to do anything to keep ahead of the investigation, can Zoe find them before they silence one of the few people who knows the truth?

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.

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?

Bobby Silver has a complicated life. She works for Myron Carter at the Port of Workington. She doesn’t like it, but it pays the bills. She’s a friend of Aaron Keyes from Cumbria CID, and she might not be a cop, but she’s not a fool, either. She knows what the cops think of Myron Carter, and she has a pretty good idea what Myron Carter thinks of the cops. Bobby Silver lives in the background. People like Bobby Silver aren't the main story. Until one day, when there's a knock on her door...

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?

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?

When a man dies during a re-enactment of Whitehaven's most famous historical battle, DI Zoe Finch and her team are stumped. Why was a potential witness tied up just before the man fell to his death? Did he kill himself, as seems to be the case, or is his death suspicious? And is it related to an attack that took place within sight of the spot where the man fell? Zoe and the team need to unpick the threads and discover what really happened.

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?

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?

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?

DI Zoe Finch has a lot on her plate. New job, new team, new county. And on day one, she’s plunged straight into a murder investigation. Zoe has to hit the ground running. She needs to manage a new team with its fair share of challenges, get to grips with a new boss who might not be all she seems, and worry about her reputation following her north to Cumbria. Can she settle in quickly enough to solve the murder and quell local tensions, as well as coping with an unfamiliar environment?

DI Zoe Finch has been working in Cumbria for a year. She’s finally got to grips with her team, the area, and much of its criminal underworld. But when a young student is found stabbed to death outside a burning barn, the investigation leads her both out of Cumbria, and closer to home. Why was the victim there? Who was he with? And is this murder linked to other cases her team has worked on? The clock is ticking, and the killer isn’t done with Cumbria yet. There’s more blood to be shed, and it might belong to someone Zoe knows.