Booked For Murder

Hall of Whispers

In the heart of Nottingham’s literary quarter, private investigator Kate Brannigan finds herself drawn into a case as labyrinthine as the city’s cobblestone alleys. When a reclusive bookseller vanishes on the eve of a celebrated author’s signing, rumors ripple through the tight-knit community of bibliophiles. From dusty archives stacked floor-to-ceiling to the polished counters of high-end bookshops, every whispered recommendation and half-erased ledger becomes a clue in a puzzle that threatens to expose secrets far darker than overdue fines.

The Footnote of Fear

As Kate pores over torn manuscripts and coded marginalia, she uncovers a sinister undercurrent: a clandestine society of rare-book collectors willing to kill to protect their most precious volumes. A cryptic inscription in an illuminated folio hints at betrayal within the investigator’s own circle, and Kate must navigate a treacherous terrain of literary rivalries, forged provenance, and hidden agendas. When another scholar meets a macabre end inside the vaulted reading room of the city library, Kate realizes that the margin between passion and madness is thinner than the finest parchment.

Turning the Page

With each chapter of this harrowing drama, Kate’s wry humor and unflappable resilience are put to the test: she stakes out candlelit auctions, deciphers antique ciphers beneath flickering lamplight, and confronts suspects who wield encyclopedic knowledge like a weapon. Tensions crescendo beside the River Trent, where a clandestine midnight rendezvous culminates in a showdown among half-burnt manuscripts. In a breathtaking finale, Kate must expose a killer whose identity is hidden in plain sight—an ending that proves the pen really can be deadlier than the sword.

. Val McDermid – acclaimed Scottish crime novelist born in 1955, whose trailblazing work has garnered international awards and redefined psychological suspense through unforgettable characters and intricately plotted mysteries.