The Becket File

ANOTHER JAMIE STROUD MYSTERY

When the invitation arrived, it seemed innocent enough.
A weekend in the English countryside at a snowbound estate, hosted by aristocrats, promised roaring fires and polite conversation. But for investigative journalist Jamie Stroud, tech-savvy sleuth Lucy D’Tremont, and ex-intelligence baronet Sir Christopher Fenton, Farrow Glen becomes something far more sinister.
A guest drops dead at dinner. A second dies before dawn. The storm outside traps everyone inside—while a killer moves freely through hidden passageways below. And beneath the surface lies something older and colder than murder: a Cold War-era intelligence network built on secrets, surveillance, and silence.
Files surface. Codenames are revealed. One name keeps returning: Becket.
As the body count rises, and the true nature of Farrow Glen is uncovered, the trio must navigate a deadly maze of lies, buried legacies, and ghosts that kill to protect the past. Because Becket never died.
And the last Cold War isn’t over. It’s just been waiting.

The Potting Shed.

The Potting Shed is a captivating mystery tale set in Notting Hill, London, revolving around the seemingly idyllic lives of David and Sarah Langdon, a retired television mystery writer and a jingle composer. Their home in Windsor Square has been the heart of family life for decades, hosting Sunday lunches and games of rounders with their children and grandchildren. However, a subtle and sinister undercurrent weaves through their days as David, an amateur painter, discovers that the paintings he creates each morning seem to capture glimpses of the past, present, and future in their square—unsettling portraits of neighbors, ghostly figures from Victorian times, and images of events that have yet to occur.

The Time Traveler

Daniel Weiss is an ordinary teenager with an extraordinary problem—he can’t stop falling through time. One moment he’s walking the fogbound streets of London, the next he’s fighting for survival on a privateer’s deck, or standing in the ranks at Hastings. At the heart of his journey is a mysterious silver locket, a device that flings him into history’s turning points without warning and demands that he survive, adapt, and sometimes change the course of events.

From the blood-soaked beaches of the Norman conquest to the smoke and chaos of the American Revolution, Daniel is drawn into battles, conspiracies, and alliances with figures both famous and forgotten. He navigates the shifting loyalties of smugglers and soldiers, spies and sovereigns—always searching for a way home.

But the locket has its own designs, and each leap through time seems to pull him deeper into a hidden pattern. In wars across centuries—the clash of steel at Hastings, the roar of cannons at sea, the desperate marches of redcoats and rebels—Daniel begins to suspect he’s not just a witness to history. He’s part of it.

Now, hunted by enemies who understand his secret and mistrusted by those closest to him, Daniel must face the truth: the locket will not rest until he plays his role in a centuries-spanning game. And in a world where one wrong move can alter the future, survival is no longer enough—he must decide what kind of history he’s willing to leave behind.

The Last Mapmaker

In a Territory Divided, Drawing the Truth is a Rebellious Act

The Accord is dead. Its borders remain. Its lies still breathe.
In a fractured nation once called The Accord, truth is drawn in pencil—and erased in ink. Ardin Vale, a weary government cartographer, has spent years redrawing borders to support a crumbling regime. But when a forbidden map resurfaces—a relic of the republic that once was—Ardin is pulled into a quiet rebellion of outcasts, signal-breakers, and memory-keepers.
As the Ministry weaponizes maps to rewrite reality, the breakaway territories known as the Severance declare their independence. Cities vanish from screens. People disappear with the stroke of a stylus. And amid the chaos, Ardin must choose: remain complicit in the fiction, or risk everything to draw the truth.
In a world where lines are lies and memory is rebellion, The Final Draft is a dystopian novella about cartography, censorship, and the fragile art of remembering what power wants you to forget.

THE LEGACY

When investigative teacher-turned-truthseeker Jenny Holland uncovers the final chapter of her late uncle’s secret life, she thinks her journey is over. But in the shadows of the White House, a deeper conspiracy is just beginning.

The First Lady of the United States—elegant, adored, and trusted—harbors a chilling secret. Groomed by Soviet handlers, educated at the Sorbonne, and embedded in elite American circles, she is no political spouse… she is a weapon decades in the making.

As Jenny’s son Jason, a Secret Service agent, begins to suspect the woman he’s sworn to protect, a web of deception unfolds—one that spans Cold War sleeper cells, sonic propaganda, faith-based infiltration, and a secret network known only as The Orchard.

With the help of a childhood friend turned NSA analyst, Jason launches a daring sting operation inside the most secure residence on Earth. What he uncovers will shake the foundations of the presidency—and force a nation to reckon with the enemy within.

Taut, intelligent, and ripped from tomorrow’s headlines, Another Legacy: The First Lady Files is a gripping political thriller where history’s sins bloom in the present—and freedom’s future hangs by a thread.

ANOTHER LEGACY

By Tim Battersby

When Florida teacher Jenny Holland inherits her late uncle’s remote estate, she expects a quiet legacy. Instead, she discovers a hidden vault, a cryptic letter, and a ledger of names—men who escaped justice after the Holocaust and quietly embedded themselves in American life.

Guided by her uncle’s posthumous instructions and a secretive survivor's group known only as 24B, Jenny uncovers a chilling truth: one of these fugitives may have fathered a prominent U.S. Senator, and their ideology—rebranded, repackaged—is poised to reawaken.

As Jenny follows a trail of forged identities, secret files, and shadow networks stretching from Argentina to Washington D.C., she must decide whether to expose a buried evil or protect a fragile future. But justice comes at a cost—and legacies, once unearthed, cannot be reburied.

Another Legacy is a gripping historical-political thriller about memory, inheritance, and the quiet war between truth and silence.

He stepped off a freight train in 1932 with nothing but a dream—and changed a North Carolina town forever. Martin B is the unforgettable true story of a young hobo who jumped off a train in Jasperville, North Carolina during the Great Depression—and never left. Armed with little more than determination, grit, and a love for the land, Martin B transformed a patch of riverbank into a thriving watermelon farm, a nationally renowned bluegrass festival, and a community built on trust, hard work, and handshakes. Told by a friend who came to know Martin decades later, this heartfelt narrative traces a life lived simply but powerfully. From buying timber from Mennonite farmers to gifting his beloved wife a new Lincoln each year (and helping her load it with sheep), from hosting legends like Doc Watson and Merle Haggard to finally learning to read in his eighties, Martin B’s story is full of warmth, wisdom, and unforgettable moments. Martin B is more than a biography. It’s a tribute to the kind of man who didn’t need headlines or accolades—just good soil, good music, and good people. A celebration of resilience, legacy, and the quiet greatness of rural America

THE ACCIDENTAL BANK ROBBER

A Short Story

by

Tim Battersby

All Tim Battersby wanted was to cash a check. Instead, he became a national sensation, a trending hashtag, and the namesake of a muffin.
Thrust into the chaos of mistaken identity, courtroom absurdity, and media mayhem, Tim must clear his name with the help of Clifford B. Trumble, an utterly inappropriate public defender with a fondness for sock puppets, cowboy boots, and wildly unorthodox legal strategies.
A side-splitting satire of modern life, viral fame, and the terrifying power of poor phrasing, The Accidental Bank Robber is a wildly funny tale for anyone who’s ever been misunderstood by a bank teller… or a nation.

James Winston appears to lead the perfect middle-class life: a respected civil engineer, a devoted husband, and a father to three privately educated sons. He and his wife Celia live quietly in Cambridge, surrounded by Sunday cricket matches, school runs, and garden barbecues.

But James harbors a secret.

He is also a highly trained contract killer—working in the shadows for a man named Victor Carswell, a ghost from his past who has built a global assassination network known only as Janus. For years, James has balanced this double life, justifying each job as a means to protect his family and fund their future.

Everything begins to unravel when Celia discovers a name in one of James’s notebooks: Aurelia. A silent phone call. A missing file. A chance encounter with an old university friend now working in intelligence. Slowly, she begins to piece together the truth—that the man she married is part of something far darker.

Meanwhile, MI5 analyst Simon Ashcroft has traced a string of impossible deaths across Europe, each marked by surgical precision and no forensic trace. His investigation leads him back to the one name he never expected to see again: James Winston.

When Victor launches Operation Eclipse, a plan to dismantle global democracy in a single coordinated strike, James, Celia, and Simon must join forces. What follows is a deadly race across Europe—to sabotage Victor’s plan, expose Janus, and survive long enough to put the past to rest.

In the end, it’s not about vengeance. It’s about truth.
And the price of keeping secrets.

Hitman is a taut, emotionally rich thriller exploring betrayal, identity, and the thin line between protector and predator.

 The Aldwych Routine

What if your dream came true... in the wrong decade?

Joe Bennett is a twenty-six-year-old accountant with one big ambition: to make people laugh. But when he wakes up in the middle of the Blitz—bombed-out London, 1940—his carefully ordered life is gone, replaced by rubble, ration books, and the sound of sirens overhead.

Lost in time and clinging to purpose, Joe finds shelter in the underground—literally—where frightened Londoners huddle through nightly raids. With nothing to lose, he tries out a few jokes... and discovers the healing power of laughter in a city under siege.

As his reputation grows and the shadows deepen, Joe is summoned to 10 Downing Street by Churchill himself. But with his knowledge of the future, Joe faces an impossible choice: stay silent and protect the timeline—or speak the truth and risk altering history forever.

A moving, mysterious, and surprisingly funny tale of war, wonder, and one man’s search for home, The Aldwych Routine is a time-slip novel about finding your voice when the world needs it most.

The Ballerina
She danced for the world. Then she disappeared to save it.

Anne Marie Shaugnessy was orphaned at the age of two, but by the time she could walk, she was already dancing. Ballet became her life, her language, her sanctuary. Trained at the prestigious Rambert School and eventually invited to join The Royal Ballet in London, Anne Marie seemed destined for stardom on the world stage.

But war has a way of rewriting destinies.

In 1942, during a performance of Les Sylphides in German-occupied Belgium, Anne Marie captivated her audience with beauty and grace—then vanished without a trace. Behind the curtain was a secret: she had been trained as a British operative, and her ballet was a cover for her arrival in enemy territory.

For the next three years, Anne Marie worked with the French Resistance, risking her life in sabotage missions, courier work, and coded transmissions that helped turn the tide of World War II. Armed not with a rifle but with bravery and discipline honed in the dance studio, she became a silent force in the fight for freedom.

The Ballerina is a powerful story of resilience, sacrifice, and elegance under pressure—a tribute to a woman who fought tyranny not from a battlefield, but from behind the shadows of occupied Europe. She returned home not just as a dancer, but as a hero.

Tim has written 30 books over the past couple of decades. They caThe Coffee Conundrum by Tim Battersby

The Coffee Conundrum

Bernard Bixby isn’t asking for much—just a decent cup of coffee and a quiet morning without emotional turbulence or pants-related incidents. But when his coffee machine dies a tragic, gurgling death, Bernard is thrust into a caffeine-deprived spiral of existential dread, public embarrassment, and latte-fueled absurdity.

What starts as a simple quest for caffeine turns into a hilarious urban odyssey involving unicorn lattes, overly chipper baristas, and brief philosophical tangents about toaster therapy. As Bernard navigates crowded coffee shops and mind-numbing small talk, he becomes the unwitting hero of his own jittery epic—powered by equal parts desperation and espresso.

The Coffee Conundrum is a fast-paced, wildly funny monologue that blends observational comedy with heart. Perfect for fans of Robin Williams-style storytelling, it’s a love letter to coffee, chaos, and the universal madness of mornings.

n all bought at Amazon Books. If you're interested click the link on each cover. Cheers

Synopsis: A Storm Is Coming

A Storm Is Coming is a soulful collection of lyrical short stories inspired by the songs of Grammy-winning duo Tim and Laura Battersby. Spanning humor, heartbreak, reflection, and rebellion, this 20-chapter journey weaves music and narrative into a deeply human experience.

The book opens with themes of unity and justice in Freedom and A Child Cries, shining light on societal divides and the innocent voices caught in the crossfire. From there, we enter smoky blues bars and back-alley truths in Introduction to the Blues and It’s Just Business, where the tone is raw, pointed, and powerful.

Whimsy enters the stage with stories like Just the Six of Us and Apostrophe, which reimagine family and language with humor and imagination. Meanwhile, quiet introspection fills chapters such as Sitting, The Old Man, and The Wait, where characters confront time, memory, and identity.

Throughout the collection, the personal remains political, and the poetic becomes personal. Whether walking the streets of East L.A., strumming on a tropical beach, or gazing back at lost summer days, the Battersbys remind us that music is more than sound—it is story, heart, and connection.

The final chapters—especially Summer Days Long Gone and You Can Take Away All of My Money—tie the journey together with tenderness and wisdom, offering gratitude for the love and trust we give and receive through a lifetime.

A Storm Is Coming is not a warning, but a promise: that art will weather the winds, carry our truths, and sing us home.

The Stories Behind the Songs

By Tim and Laura Battersby

From the award-winning musical duo Tim and Laura Battersby comes a delightfully whimsical journey through childhood, imagination, and lyrical mischief. The Stories Behind the Songs brings to life twenty original songs—each transformed into a short story filled with heart, humor, and just the right amount of chaos.

Whether it’s a quiet cat who turns out to be a cow (Buttercup the Bovine), a bubble-loving tornado of energy (I Love Bubbles), or a heroic battle against the nightly menace known as The Bedtime Bug, each chapter captures the spirit of a song and spins it into a fully imagined tale. Playful, poetic, and occasionally profound, these stories are perfect for reading aloud, giggling under the covers, or revisiting again and again.

At its core, this collection celebrates the simple joys of family life, the boundless power of imagination, and the music that lives in every moment—whether you’re chasing bubbles, dodging bath-time rubber ducks, or singing about tacos and jellybeans.

Funny, heartfelt, and endlessly charming, The Stories Behind the Songs is a book for dreamers, dancers, and anyone who knows that the best stories often begin with a tune.

A PATTERN IN THE DARK

Dispatches from the Dark
Book 4 of The Newspaper Chronicles
by Tim Battersby

In a London gripped by fear and division, a series of brutal attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals sparks a chilling investigation into a far-right conspiracy hiding in plain sight.

Investigative journalist Jamie Stroud and her partners—tech genius Lucy D’Tremont and former British Army officer Sir Christopher Fenton—follow a trail that begins with a car bombing and leads to encrypted podcasts, coded hate speech, and a secret network that thrives beneath respectability. At the heart of the plot is the elusive “Colonel Trent,” a ghostly figure orchestrating chaos from the shadows.

But as the trio delves deeper—with help from MI5 agent Miles Fenton and loyal bloodhound Poirot—they uncover a truth more shocking than any of them imagined. The mastermind isn’t who they thought. He’s someone they know. Someone once trusted.

From posh art galleries in Chelsea to a forgotten estate in Sussex, Dispatches from the Dark is a taut, intelligent thriller that explores how hatred festers in silence—and how justice demands light.

At once a gripping mystery and a sobering social commentary, this fourth installment of The Newspaper Chronicles is Tim Battersby at his most incisive and unflinching.

“The House on Cypress Lane” tells the story of an ordinary suburban couple whose suspicions about their new neighbors lead them into the dark world of child trafficking.
When Jon and Abbie Lefchek move in next door, their detachment from their baby daughter Lisa seems strange but easily dismissed—until a friend recognizes them from another neighborhood where they lived with a baby boy named Michael. The narrator’s curiosity soon turns to unease as she notices small details: Lisa never cries, never grows, never plays outside. Courier vans arrive with unmarked boxes. Lisa is gone overnight, just as the Wilsons vanish.
Determined to find out the truth, the narrator and her husband piece together a pattern of disappearances, each linked to the Lefcheks and their shifting aliases. Their findings reach the ears of Inspector Graham, who confirms the horrifying truth: the couple is part of a sophisticated child trafficking ring that operates under the radar, moving children from vulnerable families through seemingly safe suburban homes.
With the FBI’s help, the narrator and her husband agree to act as bait in a sting operation, pretending to be old friends in order to infiltrate the Wilsons’ carefully controlled world. The tension ratchets up as they play a dangerous game of neighborly politeness, all while the FBI’s surveillance team closes in.
The operation culminates in a dramatic raid that rescues the newest child, Chloe, and dismantles the Lefcheks’ five-year empire of horror. The epilogue flashes forward twenty-three years: Chloe is now a successful attorney, dedicating her life to protecting the vulnerable children she once was. Her handwritten letter to the narrator—thanking them for noticing—underscores the novel’s central message: even in a quiet cul-de-sac, courage can change everything

The Couple is a mesmerizing tale that blends psychological suspense with intimate character study. The narrative unfolds through the eyes of Robbie, a crime reporter who becomes captivated by the confessions of his elderly neighbor, Margot Hutcheson. Her stories—delivered over shared dinners and deep drinks—hint at decades of unsolved murders that she and her late husband Eric committed together.

What begins as an unsettling curiosity for Robbie quickly turns into an all-consuming obsession, driven by the chilling accuracy of Margot’s drunken confessions. As he digs deeper, the line between journalist and accomplice blurs. Robbie’s transformation from passive listener to relentless investigator is handled with a deft touch, revealing the psychological toll of dancing too close to the darkness.

The narrative’s structure—split into fifteen brisk chapters—keeps the reader hooked, layering confession upon confession until the final reveal leaves an unforgettable mark. Each chapter drips with atmosphere: rainy nights, clinking glasses, whispered memories that slip into Robbie’s mind like a fog.

Margot and Eric’s “pact” is particularly compelling: they see themselves not as murderers, but as vigilantes cleaning up the world’s hidden rot. Their rules are laid out like scripture, giving them a twisted code that somehow makes their monstrous acts seem chillingly logical.

The prose is spare but evocative, capturing the noir-like mood perfectly. There’s a balance of melancholy and menace, making even the quietest domestic scenes feel charged with danger.

Perhaps the most fascinating element of The Couple is its exploration of moral ambiguity: Are Margot and Eric truly evil, or are they self-appointed executioners of the worst of humanity? And what does it mean that Robbie can’t look away?

A final highlight is Margot’s character—a haunting mix of charm, vulnerability, and lethal calm. Her confessions feel both spontaneous and rehearsed, like an actress who’s played the role too long and no longer knows where the performance ends.

Verdict:
The Couple is a tightly woven psychological thriller that deftly explores the dark heart of human nature. Suspenseful, morally complex, and deeply engaging, it’s a story that lingers long after the final confession.

The Paperback Writer

When rising young novelist Ciaran Reilly begins to gain attention for his gripping mystery novels, he’s shocked to discover an eerie connection between his fiction and real-life unsolved crimes. The victims in his books aren’t just products of imagination—they match actual murder cases, down to the chilling details.

As the pattern unfolds, Ciaran is forced to confront the unthinkable: someone may be using his novels as a blueprint for murder. Or could it be that his stories aren’t fiction at all—but echoes of something far darker buried in the past?

Determined to uncover the truth, Ciaran begins investigating the murders he thought he invented—moving chronologically through the twisted trail of bodies and betrayals. What he finds shakes the foundation of everything he knows about storytelling, memory, and guilt.

The Paperback Writer is a tense psychological mystery that delves into the blurred lines between fiction and reality, creativity and culpability. As the body count rises and the truth grows more elusive, Ciaran must decide whether he’s hunting a killer… or becoming one himself.

The Satchel

by Tim Battersby
A forgotten bag. A fortune inside. A choice that changes everything.

It was meant to be just another shift behind the wheel of a London double-decker bus for driver George Ellis—his daily route from Fulham to Liverpool Street Station as routine as tea and toast. But when a passenger leaves behind a worn leather satchel, George's simple act of holding onto it overnight takes a startling turn.

Inside the bag? Hundreds of thousands of pounds in neatly stacked cash.

With the lost property manager off sick and no immediate owner in sight, George’s good intentions spark a journey he never expected—one that leads him down a twisting path of questions, suspicions, and choices no ordinary man should have to face.

Who left the money? Why? And what happens when no one comes to claim it?

The Satchel is a clever, character-driven short story from Tim Battersby that explores the thin line between right and wrong, and the extraordinary consequences of one very unexpected discovery.

The Scribe

by Tim Battersby
When fiction crosses the line into murder, who’s really holding the pen?

Ciaran Reilly is a rising literary talent, a young mystery novelist whose gripping plots and gruesome crimes have earned him a loyal following. But when the murders in his books begin to mirror real-life unsolved crimes—down to the smallest detail—Ciaran is thrust into a chilling mystery of his own.

Is someone using his stories as a blueprint for killing? Or has Ciaran unknowingly tapped into something far darker than his imagination?

As he retraces his novels in chronological order, searching for clues hidden in plain sight, Ciaran uncovers disturbing connections between his fiction and reality—connections that suggest the line between author and accomplice may be thinner than he ever realized.

The Scribe is a taut psychological thriller that plunges readers into the mind of a storyteller haunted by the possibility that he’s either being watched—or being used. In a world of twisted motives and buried truths, the most dangerous story… may be his own.

The Paperback Writer
Tim Battersby

When rising young novelist Ciaran Reilly begins to gain attention for his gripping mystery novels, he’s shocked to discover an eerie connection between his fiction and real-life unsolved crimes. The victims in his books aren’t just products of imagination—they match actual murder cases, down to the chilling details.

As the pattern unfolds, Ciaran is forced to confront the unthinkable: someone may be using his novels as a blueprint for murder. Or could it be that his stories aren’t fiction at all—but echoes of something far darker buried in the past?

Determined to uncover the truth, Ciaran begins investigating the murders he thought he invented—moving chronologically through the twisted trail of bodies and betrayals. What he finds shakes the foundation of everything he knows about storytelling, memory, and guilt.

The Paperback Writer is a tense psychological mystery that delves into the blurred lines between fiction and reality, creativity and culpability. As the body count rises and the truth grows more elusive, Ciaran must decide whether he’s hunting a killer… or becoming one himself.

The Ramblings of a Liberal Mind: C. Phyle
By Tim Battersby
A satire born from discarded brilliance (and grammatical crimes).

Meet C. Phyle—the not-so-imaginary byproduct of one author’s lifelong battle with typos, bad grammar, and questionable decisions. Conceived in the subterranean depths of Florida, C. Phyle is the alter ego of Tim Battersby, who, in a moment of madness—or genius—decided to rescue his countless writing missteps from the jaws of the circular file (or, as we Brits call it, the trash can).

Rather than let decades of literary misfires go to waste, Tim gave them a name, a voice, and an entirely misspelled identity: C. Phyle.

What followed is a whirlwind of irreverent essays, satirical snippets, and liberal-leaning rants from the unfiltered mind of a man who’s seen it all and misspelled most of it. Part social commentary, part comic release, and entirely unapologetic, The Ramblings of a Liberal Mind is a delightful mess of thought and theory that skewers everything from politics to punctuation.

Perfect for fans of biting wit, British sarcasm, and those who suspect their trash bin might be harboring genius.

John Lennon by Tim Battersby
A Dog’s-Eye View of Life, Love, and Lunacy

Meet John Lennon—not the Beatle, but an eighty-pound chocolate brown Labrador with a sharp wit, a taste for pepperoni pizza, and a front-row seat to the strange world of his humans, Robin and Trevor.

John has life figured out. His humans are well trained, his duck friends at the lake adore him (even if he does ruin their afternoons with a spirited game of Scatter), and the school down the road serves leftovers on cue every Wednesday. From perfecting his sad face for maximum snack gains to decoding the mystifying rituals of human behavior—like “Bounce” (don’t ask)—John is both philosopher and scoundrel.

But being a Labrador isn’t all napping and pond-jumping. It’s also about understanding the humans you love—even when they make no sense whatsoever.

John Lennon is a hilarious and heartwarming short story told through the eyes of a dog who just might be wiser than the people around him. A tale of loyalty, laughter, and the often baffling nature of human relationships, it’s perfect for animal lovers and mischief makers alike.

The Boy Who Loved Old Cars
Sometimes, uncovering a family legacy means facing the darkest truths of history.

When high school English teacher Jenny Harriman inherits her Uncle John’s sizable estate, she expects dusty paperwork, old collectibles, and maybe a sentimental memory or two. What she doesn’t expect is to uncover a life built on secrets.

As Jenny begins sorting through her uncle’s records, inconsistencies emerge. The stories she was told about his childhood in Virginia, his college years at William & Mary—none of them hold up. The deeper she digs, the more disturbing the picture becomes.

What Jenny unravels is a shocking truth: her beloved uncle may have been living under an assumed identity… and could have once been a Nazi war criminal who escaped justice after World War II.

Tracking back to Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Buchenwald, The Boy Who Loved Old Cars follows the chilling trail of a former SS officer who reinvented himself in America, founded a company in Detroit, and lived quietly for seventeen years—until a Holocaust survivor recognized him. The resulting manhunt, led by the covert agency Artemis Securities, becomes a heart-racing race for justice.

Now Jenny must confront the horrifying possibility that the man who gave her a love for literature, kindness, and antique cars may have also hidden a monstrous past.

The Boy Who Loved Old Cars is a haunting mystery that explores identity, accountability, and the moral weight of truth. Because even decades later—truth, like justice, still matters.

The NCA Murders
Evil is on the move—and it’s leaving no witnesses.

When six brutal murders rock England and Wales, the National Crime Authority calls in its best: Detective Inspector Bill Thompson and Detective Sergeant Joe Cotton. The victims share no obvious connection—except for the horrifying method of death. Each was suffocated using builders’ foam, a slow and agonizing way to die.

The killer is meticulous. Mobile. Invisible. Could it be a long-haul lorry driver? A traveling salesman? Someone who blends into the background while hiding a monstrous secret?

As the body count rises and the pressure mounts, Thompson and Cotton race against time to track a killer who leaves behind no fingerprints—just a signature of pure malice. Every clue draws them deeper into a web of misdirection, and every misstep could mean another innocent life lost.

The NCA Murders is a gripping British crime thriller that pits dogged detectives against a sadistic predator in a chilling game of cat and mouse. The question isn’t just who the killer is—but when he’ll strike again.

Sugar and Spice: The Child in Us All
By Tim Battersby
Sometimes the smallest voices lead to the greatest songs.

Based on the true story of Tim and Laura Battersby, The Child in Us All is a moving and joyful account of two university graduates who set out to change the world—one child at a time.

Armed with degrees in Early Childhood Development and hearts full of purpose, Tim and Laura devote their lives to working with underprivileged children in inner-city schools. But what begins as a quiet mission to nurture young minds takes an unexpected—and extraordinary—turn.

Through music, storytelling, and the infectious laughter of their young audiences, they discover a new way to reach children: through the power of performance. Their grassroots efforts blossom into a musical journey that leads to stages across America—and ultimately, a GRAMMY Award.

Told with humor, humility, and hope, Sugar and Spice: The Child in Us All is a celebration of compassion, creativity, and the profound impact of believing in children—and in the child that still lives in each of us.

Murder for Hire
Love, once pure, now weaponized.

Annie and Daniel grew up three doors apart in a quiet New Jersey neighborhood, their lives entwined from the start. From kindergarten to high school sweethearts, their bond seemed unbreakable. After graduation, Daniel—now a long-haul trucker—proposed to Annie in a romantic gesture at a local restaurant, sealing a love story their families had long hoped for.

Eight months later, they were married in a joyful ceremony at St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church in Paterson. The future looked bright.

But love, no matter how deep, is not immune to darkness.

As the years pass, cracks begin to form. Annie’s job at a haulage company and Daniel’s life on the road begin to chip away at the trust they once held so dearly. Misunderstandings grow. Resentment festers. And somewhere along the way, the couple begins to spiral into a version of themselves they no longer recognize—strangers forged by pain, distance, and regret.

What happens when love turns to loathing? When a shared life begins to feel like a prison?

Murder for Hire is a psychological thriller that peels back the layers of a seemingly idyllic relationship to reveal what lies beneath—a haunting portrait of passion gone sour, and the dangerous lengths to which ordinary people will go when pushed too far.

The Autocrat
Power corrupts. Legacy redeems. Truth risks everything.

When high school English teacher Jenny Harriman inherits her late uncle’s vast fortune and sprawling business empire—107 companies scattered across the United States—she expects a logistical nightmare. What she doesn’t expect is to uncover secrets that tie her mild-mannered family legacy to a storm of corruption reaching the highest office in the land.

As Jenny digs into her uncle’s affairs, she uncovers a darker truth about the empire he built—and the forces working behind the scenes to influence American power. Meanwhile, her daughter Molly, a doctor at Walter Reed, and Molly’s husband Stephen, a Secret Service agent, stumble upon a chilling discovery: the First Lady is speaking fluent Russian behind closed doors. Is it paranoia… or proof of betrayal?

With the help of an NSA insider, Stephen and Jenny begin unraveling a dangerous conspiracy—one that threatens the very foundation of American democracy. And in a haunting subplot, Jenny’s new assistant, Cynthia Hawkins, reveals her past as an Auschwitz survivor and covert Nazi hunter, now on the trail of a fugitive Gestapo officer hiding in plain sight on U.S. soil.

The Autocrat is a sweeping political thriller that blends present-day peril with historical reckoning. As Jenny is pulled deeper into a web of intrigue, espionage, and moral awakening, she must ask herself: how far will she go to stop a rogue president—and what will it cost her?

The Cloister
Ambition. Academia. And a mystery buried behind ivy-covered walls.

For one bright, privileged young man, gaining admission to Cambridge University is more than a dream—it’s a destiny. With stars in his eyes and punchlines in his back pocket, he arrives with hopes of following in the comedic footsteps of Britain’s legendary entertainers who once trod the same hallowed halls.

But Cambridge has its own ideas.

As his dreams of laughter and spotlight begin to unravel, he stumbles upon something far more intriguing: whispers of a 25-year-old mystery that still lingers in the shadows of the college cloisters. What begins as idle curiosity becomes a reluctant obsession, drawing him deeper into secrets long buried beneath the formal gowns and sandstone façades.

With equal parts dry wit and suspense, The Cloister is a coming-of-age tale wrapped in a campus mystery—a story of ambition gone sideways, and of how the past often chooses its own moment to resurface.

A Pattern in the Dark
Some stories are too dangerous to publish. Some neighbors too dangerous to ignore.

Veteran journalist Steve thought he’d left the high-stakes world of investigative reporting behind when he and his wife, Shannon, moved into a quiet Florida suburb. But something about the neighbors—Justin and Kirsten Wallace—doesn’t sit right. Their polite smiles and late-night disappearances point to something darker lurking beneath the surface.

One night, Steve follows them across the bridge into a seedy Tampa neighborhood—and uncovers a terrifying pattern: each of their secret outings seems to align with an unsolved murder.

Driven by instinct and obsession, Steve launches a private investigation and connects the Wallaces to six brutal killings. When he publishes an anonymous exposé, the consequences are immediate and chilling: surveillance, whispered threats, and a message loud enough to pierce the silence—they know.

Captured and forced to choose between silence and self-destruction, Steve escapes… but nothing is ever the same. He retreats into isolation, tormented by the truth he uncovered—and by the eerie sense that the Wallaces, or the forces behind them, are still watching.

A Pattern in the Dark is a razor-sharp psychological thriller that examines the price of truth, the cost of curiosity, and what happens when evil lives right next door.

Windsor Square
Some homes hold memories. Others hold secrets that time refuses to forget.

Nestled in the heart of Notting Hill, Windsor Square is the perfect picture of British domestic bliss—at least on the surface. For retired mystery writer David Langdon and his wife Sarah, a jingle composer, life flows peacefully with family visits, Sunday lunches, and afternoons of rounders in the garden. But behind their ivy-covered walls, something far stranger begins to stir.

Every morning, David paints—an innocent pastime that soon takes a dark and uncanny turn. His canvases begin to reveal unsettling glimpses of their neighbors’ lives: past traumas, spectral figures from Victorian London, and eerily precise visions of things that haven’t happened… yet.

As David’s obsession with his prophetic paintings deepens, Sarah begins her own investigation—unearthing the square’s tragic history and confronting a growing suspicion that Windsor Square itself may be more than a place. It may be a portal—where time folds in on itself, and the past, present, and future bleed into one another.

Is David losing his grip on reality? Or is he tapping into a force that defies time and reason?

With echoes of The Time Traveler’s Wife and the atmospheric pull of Rebecca, Windsor Square is a genre-bending mystery where magical realism meets psychological suspense. A haunting meditation on memory, aging, and the ghosts that linger just beneath the surface of our lives.

The Enchanted Playground
Where imagination opens the gate to magic.

When English writer Timothy Tuttle—“Tut” to his friends—moves to a cabin atop Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains with his precocious three-year-old daughter Emily and their lovable Old English Sheepdog, Sadie, he expects peace, quiet, and maybe a bit of inspiration.

What he doesn’t expect is to stumble upon a secret only the most imaginative minds can see: an enchanted playground hidden behind a tall brick wall on the edge of their property. There, amid the towering fir trees, Emily and Tut discover a world alive with fairies, talking trees, and wise old trolls who guard the magical grounds with fierce loyalty and a soft spot for curious children.

As Emily grows, so too do the adventures—mystical encounters, moonlit explorations, and unexpected friendships. The trolls and fairies quietly protect the little family, though only Emily and Tut can see them. To the outside world, it’s just a patch of woods. But to those with open hearts and boundless imaginations, it’s a place where magic is real and wonder never fades.

The Enchanted Playground is a heartwarming tale of discovery, protection, and the secret magic that exists just beyond the ordinary—if only we’re willing to believe.

The House on Cypress Lane
Evil doesn’t always knock. Sometimes it moves in next door.

In a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, the arrival of Jon and Abbie Wilson with their infant daughter Lisa seems unremarkable—until the small details begin to feel… wrong. Lisa never cries. Never grows. Never plays outside. And then one day, she's gone—just like the Lefcheks.

When a neighbor recognizes the couple from another neighborhood where they lived with a different child, suspicions give way to a chilling investigation. What begins as idle curiosity escalates into a harrowing discovery: the Wilsons are part of a sophisticated child trafficking ring, using residential neighborhoods as cover while moving vulnerable children under the radar.

As the pattern of disappearances becomes undeniable, the narrator and her husband partner with the FBI to go undercover in a high-stakes sting operation. Their mission: infiltrate the world of the Wilsons—new aliases, same predators—and stop them before another child vanishes.

The House on Cypress Lane is a gripping suburban thriller about the courage to speak up, the darkness that hides in plain sight, and the ordinary people who risk everything to do what’s right.

In a moving epilogue, we meet Chloe—the rescued child—now a successful attorney, dedicating her life to protecting others from the fate she narrowly escaped. Her letter of thanks reminds us: in the quietest places, extraordinary bravery can save lives.

A Tangled Web
By Eric Battersby | Edited by Tim Battersby
A life shaped by duty, danger, and the sweep of history.

In this powerful memoir, Eric Battersby recounts an extraordinary journey that begins in 1935, when—at just 19 years old—he was posted to Burma as a police cadet under British colonial rule. What follows is a richly detailed portrait of a young man coming of age in a complex and volatile world.

Rising through the ranks, Eric eventually becomes aide-de-camp (ADC) to the Governor of Burma, bearing witness to the political tensions and cultural shifts of a country on the brink of upheaval. But when the Japanese invade and World War II erupts across the Far East, duty transforms into survival.

Forced to flee on foot through the treacherous terrain of the Burmese jungle, Eric’s story becomes one of resilience, endurance, and the indomitable human spirit.

A Tangled Web is both a deeply personal account and a vivid chronicle of a world in turmoil—told with humility, sharp observation, and the quiet courage of a man who lived through history.

The Bloodhound Affair
Book Two of the Trilogy

When investigative journalist Jamie Stroud’s reporting on a string of gruesome murders threatens to expose a terrifying secret, she turns to her closest friends for help. Together with Lucy D’Tremont and Sir Christopher Fenton, they form TMI, a private investigation company based in Chicago. Their most loyal ally? Poirot, their well-trained bloodhound whose nose for the truth might just save their lives.

As they follow the trail of a serial killer who has left the city gripped by fear, the team must navigate the dark alleys of corruption and cruelty to bring a predator to justice. But Jamie’s search for the truth doesn’t end in Chicago.

When the President enacts a harsh no-tolerance policy at the southern border, Jamie travels to Brownsville, Texas, to report on the human cost of politics. There, she meets Maria Hernandez, a mother who fled Guatemala with her seven-year-old daughter, only to face separation and unimaginable hardship in a system that sees them as nothing more than numbers.

Jamie’s powerful reporting for The Chicago Clarion shines a light on the heartbreak and courage of those who have been silenced.

In The Bloodhound Affair, the personal and political collide, weaving a story of friendship, justice, and the unbreakable will to seek the truth.

The Newspaper Chronicles
Book One of the Trilogy

Jamie Stroud, an ambitious investigative journalist in Chicago, is assigned to profile a local businessman accused of inappropriate behavior with a school board member. What begins as a routine story soon plunges Jamie into a web of secrets and lies.

As she digs deeper, she uncovers a man whose carefully crafted image of family values masks a sinister reality: connections to the Russian Mafia, and a life driven by greed and corruption.

The article that starts as a single exposé quickly grows into a gripping six-part series called Betrayal. Each installment peels back another layer of deception, revealing a world of murder, drugs, kidnapping, and money laundering—a dark underbelly Jamie never imagined she’d find.

But as the stakes rise and the danger draws closer, Jamie must decide how far she’s willing to go to tell the truth—and how much she’s willing to risk to see justice done.

The Authoritarian
History never forgets—and neither do its survivors.

Narrated by Jenny Harriman, a quiet high school English teacher who unexpectedly inherits her uncle’s vast business empire, The Authoritarian charts her awakening to a hidden world of power, betrayal, and legacy. As Jenny tours her uncle’s 107 companies across the country, she uncovers secrets that link boardrooms to battlefields—and realizes her inheritance is more than financial. It’s moral.

When her son-in-law, a Secret Service agent, overhears the First Lady speaking Russian behind closed doors, a new plot surfaces—one that threatens the very heart of American democracy. What begins as whispers of corruption soon explodes into a nationwide conspiracy involving political bribery, espionage, and a President compromised by greed and foreign influence.

Amid the growing storm, Jenny’s new assistant, Cynthia Hawkins, reveals a secret of her own: she’s an Auschwitz survivor, and an elite Nazi hunter embedded within Artemis. Her mission? Track down one of the most brutal SS officers still at large—and bring him to justice.

The Authoritarian is a pulse-pounding political thriller layered with historical reckoning, personal awakening, and the stark warning of how fragile democracy can be when truth is buried and power goes unchecked.

The Imposter
How well do you really know the people you love?

When Oxford student Matt Chandler stumbles upon an old photograph of his father in a Nazi uniform, his world is shaken to its core. The man he has trusted, admired, and built his identity around may not be who he claims to be.

As Matt begins to investigate the shocking discovery, he finds himself caught in a labyrinth of half-truths, hidden identities, and decades-old secrets. The deeper he digs, the more he is forced to confront the unthinkable: has his entire life been built on a lie?

Torn between loyalty and justice, Matt faces an impossible decision—protect the man who raised him or expose a past that could destroy everything.

The Imposter is a gripping psychological thriller that explores the dark intersections of legacy, guilt, and the price of truth. In a world where history can be rewritten and identities erased, one young man must choose between family and the unforgiving weight of the past.

The English Affair
Book Three of the Trilogy – The Newspaper Chronicles

Throughout history, villains have always taken center stage. In The English Affair, Jamie Stroud, investigative journalist for The Chicago Clarion, joins forces once again with her closest friends—Lucy D’Tremont and Sir Christopher Fenton—to confront evil in all its forms.

When a beloved armored car guard is murdered on the streets of Chicago and a synagogue is brutally attacked, the trio’s investigation reveals a chilling web of corruption and violence. But the danger isn’t only in the shadows: Jamie is suddenly suspended from the paper for a year, after a complaint from a powerful enemy threatens to silence her.

Determined to keep moving forward, the friends relocate to London, taking up residence in Sir Christopher’s Knightsbridge flat. No sooner have they arrived than they’re drawn into the mystery of an art theft that sweeps them from the bustling streets of the city to the hushed corridors of a grand manor house in Buckinghamshire.

Their investigation weaves together stories of survival and betrayal: from the cramped ghettos of Poland and the horrors of Auschwitz to the daring missions of World War II pilots like Squadron Leader Pongo Underhill—who risked everything to drop female operatives behind enemy lines.

With its rich tapestry of history, intrigue, and unbreakable friendship, The English Affair brings the Newspaper Chronicles trilogy to a powerful, unforgettable close.

The Couple
Some secrets are shared over wine. Others are confessed in blood.

Robbie, a seasoned crime reporter, thinks he’s seen it all—until he moves next door to Margot Hutcheson, a charming yet enigmatic widow with a penchant for gin and unsettling stories. Over countless dinners and countless more drinks, Margot begins to reveal fragments of a disturbing truth: she and her late husband Eric may have been responsible for a string of unsolved murders spanning decades.

What begins as morbid curiosity quickly becomes obsession. Robbie is drawn into Margot’s world of foggy memories, whispered motives, and a chilling sense of righteousness. As he investigates her claims, the lines between listener and accomplice blur, and he’s forced to confront a terrifying question: is Margot just a lonely old woman spinning dark tales—or is she the last thread of a vigilante couple who believed they were cleansing the world of its worst?

Told in fifteen taut chapters, The Couple unfolds with noir-like precision. Rain-soaked streets, the clink of cutlery, and the calm cadence of Margot’s confessions create a haunting atmosphere where morality is murky and justice wears a twisted grin.

With its spare, evocative prose and its unflinching exploration of psychological obsession, The Couple is a darkly compelling tale of intimacy, evil, and the stories we tell ourselves to live with what we’ve done.