September is a busy month for my fictional sleuths

September is a busy month for my fictional sleuths.

It’s September 1950 and Inspector Alun Ryga is on his first investigation outside of London since his promotion to Inspector at Scotland Yard. In DEATH IN THE COVE he is sent to the Royal Island of Portland in Dorset to investigate the murder of a man whose body has been found in the isolated Church Ope Cove.  It is on this investigation he meets and teams up with former war photographer, Eva Paisley, who is to join him in subsequent Inspector Ryga mysteries.

No one in the local community seems to know who the victim is. The man appears to have been a labourer. But he is found dressed in a tailored pinstriped suit, silk underwear, handmade shoes and rare pink diamond cufflinks. Something about him doesn’t add up.

Ryga quickly establishes a good working relationship with Eva Paisley. But the local police warn Ryga not to trust her.

Soon he’s embroiled in a mystifying case,

There are currently five in the Inspector Ryga mystery series and I am writing number six.

Back to the present and DI Andy Horton has two investigations on his plate in September but not in the same year. The first one is THE LANGSTONE HARBOUR MURDERS when the body of a head teacher from a failing Portsmouth school is found murdered on the mulberry in Langstone Harbour. A note is found on her, “Have you forgotten me” along with a wad of money covered in honey, and wrapped in a five pound note.

The victim, Jessica Langley, a determined woman, has made enemies on her path to success. But did any of them hate her enough to kill her?

Horton is in a race against time to piece together the clues and stop the killer. With the clock ticking and Superintendent Uckfield pressing for results, Horton is forced to make a decision that will put his life on the line.

THE LANGSTONE HARBOUR MURDERS is the second Inspector Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery.

A year later and DI Andy Horton is busy solving another crime. This time it’s THE CHIDHAM LAKE MURDERS. Horton is called out to a suspected suicide in Portsmouth. Juliette Croft, a professional celebrant, is found dead in her living room with an empty bottle of champagne and medicine neatly arranged on the coffee table. Horton is immediately suspicious, it’s all too neat and tidy. The champagne glasses are dry and there’s no smell of alcohol on the body.

When the Horton tracks down the beneficiary of her estate, he finds it to be a multimillionaire businessman who denies ever knowing her. Then another body is discovered on the shores of Chidham Creek and the case takes a shocking turn.

THE CHIDHAM CREEEK MURDERS is number 18 in the DI Andy Horton Solent Murder Mystery series.

And not to be out done, my other sleuth, action man, undercover agent and former Royal Marine Commando, Art Marvik will have a new investigation to solve in September when number five in the series will be published by Joffe Books in November 2025. More about this later.