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Missing Lies (Reissue)

Page 30

by Chris Collett


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  A SELECTION OF OUR OTHER TITLES YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY

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  Can this duo track down the murderer before anyone else dies and before the press publicise the gruesome crimes? Detectives Calladine and Bayliss are led on a trail which gets dangerously close to home. In a thrilling finale they race against time to rescue someone very close to Calladine’s heart.

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  Shocking family secrets come to light when a young woman is murdered

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  If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.

  DEAD SECRET is the first in a new series of detective thrillers featuring D.S. Ava Merry and D.I. Jim Neal. Ava Merry is a young policewoman, recently promoted to detective sergeant. She is a fitness fanatic with a taste for dangerous relationships. Jim Neal is a single dad who juggles his devotion to his job with caring for his son.

  Set in the fictional Northern city of Stromford, this detective mystery will have you gripped from start to shocking conclusion.

  CRIME ON THE FENS

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  A NEW CRIME THRILLER WITH A COMPELLING DETECTIVE WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO AVENGE HER DAUGHTER

  Glossary of English Slang for US readers

  A & E: Accident and emergency department in a hospital

  Aggro: Violent behaviour, aggression

  Air raid: an attack in which bombs are dropped from aircraft on ground targets

  Anorak: nerd (it also means a waterproof jacket)

  Artex: textured plaster finish for walls and ceilings

  A Level: exams taken between 16 and 18

  Auld Reekie: Edinburgh

  Au pair: live-in childcare helper. Often a young woman.

  Barm: bread roll

  Barney: argument

  Beaker: glass or cup for holding liquids

  Beemer: BMW car or motorcycle

  Benefits: social security

  Bent: corrupt

  Bin: wastebasket (noun), or throw in rubbish (verb)

  Biscuit: cookie

  Blackpool Lights: gaudy illuminations in seaside town

  Bloke: guy

  Blow: cocaine

  Blower: telephone

  Blues and twos: emergency vehicles

  Bob: money

  Bobby: policeman

  Broadsheet: quality newspaper (New York Times would be a US example)

  Brown bread: rhyming slang for dead

  Bun: small cake

  Bunk: do a bunk means escape

  Burger bar: hamburger fast-food restaurant

  Buy-to-let: Buying a house/apartment to rent it out for profit

  Charity Shop: thrift store

  Carrier bag: plastic bag from supermarket

  Care Home: an institution where old people are cared for

  Car park: parking lot

  CBeebies: kids TV

  Chat-up: flirt, trying to pick up someone with witty banter or compliments

  Chemist: pharmacy

  Chinwag: conversation

  Chippie: fast-food place selling chips and other fried food

  Chips: French fries but thicker

  CID: Criminal Investigation Department

  Civvy Street: civilian life (as opposed to army)

  Clock: punch

  Cock-up: mess up, make a mistake

  Cockney: a native of East London

  Common: an area of park land/ or lower class

  Comprehensive School (Comp.): High school

  Cop hold of: grab

  Copper: police officer

  Coverall: coveralls, or boiler suit

  CPS: Crown Prosecution Service, decide whether police cases go forward

  Childminder: someone who looks after children for money

  Council: local government

  Dan Dare: hero from Eagle comic

  Deck: one of the landings on a floor of a tower block

  Deck: hit (verb)

  Desperate Dan: very strong comic book character

  DI: detective inspector

  Digestive biscuit: plain cookie

  Do a runner: disappear

  Do one: go away

  Doc Martens: Heavy boots with an air-cushioned sole

  Donkey’s years: long time

  Drum: house

  DS: detective sergeant

  ED: accident and emergency department of hospital

  Eagle: boys’ comic

  Early dart: to leave work early

  Eggy soldiers: strips of toast with a boiled egg

  Enforcer: police battering ram

  Estate: public/social housing estate (similar to housing projects)

  Estate agent: realtor (US)

  Falklands War: war between Britain and Argentina in 1982

  Fag: cigarette

  Father Christmas: Santa Claus

  Filth: police (insulting)

  Forces: army, navy, and air force

  FMO: force medical officer

  Fried slice: fried bread

  Fuzz: police

  Garda: Irish police

  Gendarmerie: French national police force

  Geordie: from Newcastle

  Garden Centre: a business where plants and gardening equipment are sold

  Gob: mouth/ can also mean phlegm or spit

  GP: general practitioner, a doctor based in the community

  Graft: hard work

  Gran: grandmother

  Hancock: Tony Hancock, English comedian popular in 1950s

  Hard nut: tough person

  HGV: heavy goods vehicle, truck

  HOLMES: UK police computer system used during investigation of major incidents

  Home: care home for elderly or sick people

  Hoover: vacuum cleaner

  Hula Hoops: potato-based chip shaped like a wedding ring

  I’ll be blowed: expression of surprise

  Inne: isn’t he

  Interpol: international police organisation

  Into care: a child taken away from their family by the social services

  Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, applied to any strong woman

  ITU: intensive therapy unit in hospital

/>   Jane Doe: a person whose identity is unknown/anonymous

  JCB: a mechanical excavator

  Jerry-built: badly made

  Jungle: nickname given to migrant camp near Calais

  Lad: young man

  Lass: young woman

  Lift: elevator

  Lord Lucan: famous aristocrat who allegedly killed his children’s nanny and disappeared in 1974. Has never been found.

  Lorry: a truck

  Lovely jubbly: said when someone is pleased

  Luftwaffe: German air force

  M&S: Marks and Spencer, a food and clothes shop

  Miss Marple: detective in a series of books by Agatha Christie

  MOD: ministry of defence

  Mobile phone: cell phone

  MP: Member of Parliament, politician representing an area

  MRSA: A strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

  Myra Hindley: famous British serial killer

  Naff: lame, not good

  Naff all: none

  National Service: compulsory UK military service, ended in 60s

  Net curtains: a type of semi-transparent curtain

  NHS: National Health Service, public health service of UK

  Nick: police station (as verb: to arrest)

  Nowt: nothing

  Nutter: insane person

  Nursery: a place which grows plants, shrubs and trees for sale (often wholesale)

  Old bag: old woman (insulting)

  Old Bill: police

  OTT: over the top

  Owt: anything

  Pants: noun: underwear adjective: bad/rubbish/terrible

  Para: paratrooper

  Pay-as-you-go: a cell phone you pay for calls in advance

  PC: police constable

  Pear-shaped: go wrong

  Petrol: gasoline

  Pictures: movie

  Pillbox: a concrete building, partly underground, used as an outpost defence

  Pillock: fool

  Pips: police insignia indicating rank

  Piss off: as exclamation, go away (rude). Also can mean annoy.

  Pissing down: raining

  Playing field: sports field

  Pleb: ordinary person (often insulting)

  Portakabin: portable building used as temporary office etc.

  Post: mail

  Planning Department: the local authority department which issues licences to build and develop property

  PNC: police national computer

  PSNI: police service of Northern Ireland

  Prat: silly idiot

  Premier League: top English soccer division

  Proms: concerts held at the Albert Hall

  Public Analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes

  RAF: Royal Air Force

  Rag: newspaper

  Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window

  Randy: horny

  Recce: reconnaissance

  Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter

  Resus: resuscitation room

  Right state: messy

  Ring: telephone (verb)

  Roadworks: repairs done to roads

  Rozzers: police

  RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

  RTC: road traffic collision

  RV: rendezvous point

  Royal Engineers: British army corps dealing with military engineering etc.

  Rugger: rugby (posh American football)

  Sarge: sergeant

  SCO19: Specialist Crime and Operations Specialist Firearms Command

  Scrote: low life

  Section: to have someone committed to a mental hospital under UK mental health laws

  Semi: Semi-detached house, house with another house joined to it on one side only

  Shedload: a large amount

  Shop: store

  Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way

  Sickie: day off work pretending to be ill

  Sixth-form college: school for high school students in final two years.

  SIO: senior investigating officer

  Skip: a large open container used for building waste

  Slapper: slag

  Smackhead: heroin addict

  Snout: police informer

  SOCO: scene-of-crime officer

  Sod: an annoying person

  Sort: to do or make

  Solicitor: lawyer

  Sparky: electrician

  Spook: spy

  Spuds: potatoes

  Squaddie: a soldier of low rank

  Stunner: beautiful woman

  Super: superintendent (police rank)

  Surveyor: someone who examines land and buildings professionally

  Sweeting: endearment, like sweetheart

  Tabloid: newspaper

  Tea: Dinner (Northern English)

  Tea towel: drying cloth

  Till: cash register

  Tip: a mess

  Tipsy: a bit drunk

  Top himself: commit suicide

  Torch: flashlight

  Tutor: university teacher

  Tower block: tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)

  Upmarket: affluent or fancy

  Wacky baccy: cannabis

  Wally: silly person

  War Cry: Salvation Army magazine

  Wash: the washing machine

  Water board: company supplying water to an area

  White van man: typical working-class man who drives a small truck

  WI: Women’s Institute, organisation of women in UK for social/cultural activity

  Widow’s weeds: black clothes worn by a widow in mourning

  Wilco: will comply i.e. yes

  Wrinklies: old people

  Yellowbelly: native of Lincolnshire

  Yob: a rude or aggressive youth or person

  CHARACTER LIST

  CHARACTER LIST

  Detective Inspector Tom Mariner is, on the surface, an average dedicated policeman, but his experiences as a younger man have given him an insight into the darker side of life, and a clear sense of right and wrong. Not a rule breaker, he is prepared to work flexibly within their parameters, striking out on his own where necessary. He is meticulous and systematic, and professionally and personally self-reliant, though he cares deeply about his team. Mariner lives in a modest canal-side cottage, enjoys the occasional (proper) beer and game of dominoes and drives an average car. In times of crisis he goes to where he is most at home: in the outdoors, with an OS map and a compass.

  Detective Sergeant Tony Knox transferred to the West Midlands force from Merseyside. Having been temporarily demoted to uniform, Knox has re-established himself in CID, developing a strong working partnership with his boss, DI Mariner. A scouser, Knox has the gift of the gab and a roving eye, which caused the breakdown of his marriage to Theresa and a degree of estrangement from his grown-up children.

  Detective Constable Charlie Glover: in his late forties, and with a happy marriage and two teenage children, as well as being a policeman, Glover is a newly born-again evangelical Christian. One of Mariner’s most experienced officers, he is calm and dependable and often the voice of reason in tense situations.

  Detective Constable Jamilla (Millie) Khatoon: newly promoted to CID, DC Khatoon is experienced in the role of Family Liaison Officer (FLO). A dedicated and conscientious officer, Millie joined the police against the wishes of her traditional Muslim parents, though there has since been a reconciliation. She is married to Suliman and currently on maternity leave following the birth of her son, Haroon.

  Detective Chief Inspector Davina Sharp: Mariner’s boss is an ambitious, modern-style police officer who excelled throughout training and has held senior positions elsewhere in the country. Keen to make her mark, she nonetheless values the knowledge and experience of the people working for her and does what she can to support them in doing an effective job.

  Jamie Barham: the severely autistic younger brother o
f Mariner’s late partner Anna, for whom Mariner has day-to-day care and guardianship.

  Mercy Brown: in late middle age and originally from Grenada, Mariner employs Mercy on an informal basis to mind Jamie when he is not at the day care centre.

  Grace Clifton: an eighteen-year-old student and volunteer steward at Symphony Hall. Daughter of Councillor and Mrs Clifton.

  Pippa Talbot: Grace Clifton’s best friend.

  Dee Henderson: a critical care nurse at the Queen Elizabeth hospital. Her partner is Paddy Henderson and they have three young children.

  Ellen Kingsley: a consultant critical care doctor at the Queen Elizabeth hospital.

  Leo Hayden: a psychiatrist who works part-time at a private clinic and part-time at the Queen Elizabeth hospital.

  Private Craig Lomax: a young soldier caught up in an IED explosion in Afghanistan and being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

  Rosa Batista: a hotel cleaner/bar worker who is single mum to her eight-year-old daughter Dominique.

  Sam(Samantha) McBride: a teacher at St Martin’s Primary School.

  Louise Easton: is married to Greg Easton and stay at home mum to new baby daughter Abigail. They attend the same health visitor clinic as Millie Khatoon.

 

 

 


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