On location with DI Andy Horton in A Killing Coast

Horton's investigations into his mother's disappearance and the arrival of a former girl friend complicate a complex murder investigation for the troubled detective, DI Andy Horton in A Killing Coast, the seventh in the DI Andy Horton series of police procedural mysteries. It opens with Horton at Lee-on-the-Solent on the south coast of England where he is visiting the former copper, PC Adrian Stanley, who was detailed to cursorily investigate Andy's mother, Jennifer's, disappearance thirty years ago. Can Stanley tell Horton more about what happened to Jennifer on that foggy November day when she left their council flat in a tower block in inner city Portsmouth and abandoned her ten year old son to the mercies of social services, and a succession of children's' homes and foster parents?



This is the view that Andy had while in Adrian Stanley's retirement apartment. Looking across the Solent to Ryde in the distance on the Isle of Wight. Click on the images to enlarge them.




Horton is a flawed and rugged cop, living on board his small yacht in Southsea Marina since his estrangement from his wife following a gross misconduct charge.

He's a man rarely at peace, unless he is on the sea. When fighting crime he is prepared to take risks and is fearless in his search for justice. He has a desperate need to belong and yet is always on the outside. Being alone is his greatest fear, yet he is alone.


In A Killing Coast, Horton's personal investigations into his mother's disappearance are interrupted by a body found floating in the sea off Portsmouth Harbour. He initially judges it to be an accidental death, soon though, to his dismay, he discovers he’s got it very wrong. Accused of being incompetent by his boss, and with the head of the Major Crime Team coming down heavily on him, Horton wonders if he’s allowed his ongoing investigation into the disappearance of his mother to cloud his judgement.


Not only that but the arrival of a former girl friend on her husband's luxury super yacht in Portsmouth complicates things further for Horton.








His investigations take him across the Solent to Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. With no clear motive for the murder, Horton is sucked into a baffling investigation that he is determined to resolve despite the odds. Not only does he need to find a brutal killer, but he now has to prove to himself, and others, that he is still up to the job.



'Meticulous police work leads Horton to a particularly callous and ruthless killer as well as theft and blackmail…includes a few unexpected twists.” Publishers Weekly

'Multilayered, twisted, and complex...a surprising conclusion and a satisfying read.' Booklist

A Killing Coast is available in paperback, as an e book on Amazon Kindle and Kobo, in Large Print and as an unabridged audio book read by Gordon Griffin.

It can also be loaned from UK, USA and Commonwealth libraries.