Roy Lewis – författare

Meet Arnold Landon, mild-mannered history buff turned amateur sleuth. Murder in the Barn marks the beginning of an addictive new series, featuring an unlikely hero whose passions run deep.

IT STARTS WITH A SIMPLE PLANNING REQUEST …

Rampton Farm, Northumberland, has always been a gloomy, godforsaken place. Now it’s earmarked for demolition—to make way for just another tawdry amusement park. It will be progress, and nothing can stand in the way—except perhaps Arnold Landon, the Planning Officer who must glean the lie of the land.

Medieval architecture is Arnold’s passion. And scouting the grounds, he makes a thrilling discovery: the Old Wheat Barn. He is captivated the moment he crosses the threshold; its walls echo with whispers of the past. Then and there, he realizes he must save it from the developers. But his efforts meet with hostile resistance. And then the barn offers up its most shocking secret yet …

A dead body, sprawled in the straw.

What other crimes lay hidden in the dark history of the barn? Arnold won’t rest until he uncovers the truth.

Originally published as A Gathering of Ghosts, fans of Elly Griffiths, Peter James, P. D. James, Damien Boyd, Helen H. Durrant, JD Kirk, Bill Kitson, and Peter Robinson will devour this intriguing mystery.

Arnold Landon can’t help but feel drawn to Oldham Manor, an atmospheric medieval house in the middle of nowhere.

When he is invited to catalogue the library there, he jumps at the chance. The place is a maze of musty old papers and books.

And that’s not all. Late one night, he stumbles on a secret passage, twisting deep under the ground. Where will it take him? And why was it walled up?

When a stranger turns up dead in a ditch, Landon begins to realize that someone is watching his every move. And they have a plan to ensure the past stays buried for good.

What did the victim know that was worth killing for?

Arnold Landon finds himself drawn into another bitter dispute over land—in which a defenseless old woman pays the ultimate price.

To the casual observer, Penbrook Farm might seem like a ramshackle hovel, buried deep in the woods of Northumberland.

But to fragile old Sarah Ellis, it’s home. And the developers can have the place over her dead body.

Of course, no one ever expected it to come to that …

Least of all Arnold Landon, the peaceable planning officer assigned to Sarah’s case.

Late one night, he calls at the farmhouse to find the place in darkness. By the fire’s dying embers, he can make out a body lying on the hard stone flags.

Who wanted the farm so badly they were ready to kill for it?

And what has become of Sarah’s battered old prayerbook? In life she carried it with her constantly.

Does it also hold the key to the mystery of her death?

A hunter stalks the wild, wooded grounds of the Kilgour Estates. But what—or who—is his quarry?

A haughty professor comes calling on Arnold Landon for research assistance. But he’s overlooked an important fact. Landon already has a job at the council—along with a raft of superiors who’d rather he focused on the dispute at hand.

Namely, who is the rightful owner of the Kilgour Estates? And the opulent manor house in the grounds? Dashing rake Patrick Yates insists it’s all his. But a black sheep in the family returns to claim otherwise. Who is telling the truth?

While Landon’s still grappling with the complexities of the case, Yates turns up dead—an ancient arrow planted firmly in his chest. And Landon realizes his search for answers is leading him down a dangerous path indeed.

St Michael’s Church may be derelict but it’s not deserted. Someone still comes here to worship on nights when the moon is full. Arnold Landon should know. He’s seen the grisly evidence for himself. Blood among the roses.

The butchered remains of a man, tangled in the undergrowth. The victim was a traveler. How did he come to be in the churchyard? Arnold has a theory that leads back centuries, all the way to the cult of the Raging Wolf. Everyone tells him it’s impossible, that the cultists are dead and buried. But the devil wears many faces—Arnold’s worked in planning long enough to know that much for sure.

Can he unmask the modern-day killer before anyone else pays the price?

Originally published as The Devil Is Dead.

Author Ken Andrews is never at home to callers. He has one purpose in life. His book. But someone is determined it will never see the light of day …

Andrews is found dead in his own living room. His head blown to bloody smithereens. Who will finish what the dead man started? The publisher turns to Arnold Landon. And why wouldn’t he pick up the mantle? Everyone tells him it’s safe. The police have their man for Andrews’ killing. But the closer Landon gets to Andrews’ checkered past, the less certain he becomes.

Could the true killer be out there still? Watching, waiting for his chance to strike again …

Two lovers murdered in a midnight tryst.

Late one night, Lynne Anderson reveals to her lover that she has something to tell him. And it’s not just pillow talk. But before she can spill her shocking secrets, a shooter silences her and her lover forever.

A colleague who vanishes without a trace.

Meanwhile, her husband, Kevin Anderson, has disappeared, leaving behind only a partial report on the ancient tower houses he and Arnold Landon are reviewing. Arnold is left trying to puzzle out Kevin’s skimpy notes. But the deeper he gets the more he fears for his missing coworker.

Did Kevin have anything to do with his wife’s murder? And does any of it have anything to do with a mysterious painting Kevin unearthed inside a false ceiling?

Can Arnold piece it all together before the killer strikes again?