by Liz Mistry
Gus looked round the room. ‘This list is probably not conclusive, and Professor Carlton will continue to work with Cameron to ensure we get a comprehensive list. So, all that’s left for the team to do is to get all the paperwork up to date and put this horrendous investigation to bed. Psychological counselling will be made available for anyone who needs it – and I suggest you all take advantage of that service. But, before you all go, I have an announcement to make.’
Exhaling, he looked round at each of the people he’d grown to love over the years they’d worked together. He’d already discussed this with both Alice and Nancy and outlined his reasons, but he hadn’t wanted to disappear without trace. That wasn’t his style. ‘I’m taking an extended leave and Alice will be acting DI until Nancy gets a more permanent replacement.’
Compo frowned and then jumped to his feet. ‘You’re leaving? For good?’
Feeling like he was disappointing a child, Gus shrugged. ‘I’m sorry Comps. I need … I need space. I need to get away from Bradford. I need to … be near my son.’
His voice trailed off and he looked hopelessly round the room. Then Compo wrapped his arms round him and mumbled, ‘You’ll be back, boss. I know you will.’
Acknowledgements
As always I am blessed by the support that my amazing family gives me. They are tirelessly patient, endlessly encouraging and continuously present for me, so my first shout out goes to them. However, many others have supported me in the writing of Unbound Ties in this difficult Covid 19 time.
I have been lucky to have benefitted from the tireless advice that Toria Forsyth-Moser brings to my first draft. She challenges me to better my writing and I think she knows my characters nearly as well as I do. Huge thanks to my editor, Emma Mitchell, from Creating Perfection. She has been professional and efficient, and I am so glad she gets my Bradford setting and characters. CherieFox.com did an amazing job with the cover and I love my new Gus figure in the background.
As ever any mistakes are my own and some artistic license has been used also.
I dedicated this book to everyone who has been struggling over the past few months and that comes from the heart. So many of us have been affected by this pandemic and it couldn’t go unmentioned.
Thanks, also to my ARC group, who are so supportive they often have me in tears –sometimes of joy, sometimes of laughter, but always of happiness. You are brilliant.
Last of all, but definitely not least, a heartfelt thanks to all you readers and bloggers who have got behind Gus and the gang and who have so generously left reviews, tweeted, shared and liked posts about Gus and Co. You are amazing… truly amazing!
If you liked Unbound Ties, I’d love it if you could leave a review. Reviews are an author’s lifeblood and I read every one (even the bad ones).
Here’s till next time
Best Wishes
Liz Mistry
If you want to connect with Liz, you can do so on:
Twitter: @LizMistryAuthor
Facebook: LizMistryBooks
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2xhdOgG
Website : https://www.lizmistry.com/
More Liz Mistry Books
D.I. Gus McGuire Book 1: Unquiet Souls
When those you love betray you, who can you trust?
When a young girl goes missing, Gus fears that her family’s secrets may have come back to hurt her.
What is the link between her abduction and a murdered drug addict?
Meanwhile a murdered sex worker is found leading to the shocking discovery of Eastern European children locked in her attic.
Who is the ringleader who calls himself 'The Matchmaker'?
What at first appears to be a simple murder soon turns into an international manhunt for the members of a twisted child trafficking ring.
Can McGuire identify The Matchmaker before it’s too late?
DI Gus McGuire, newly returned to work, suffers with his own emotional problems yet he must pick his way through the web of deceit and uncover the truth in time before anyone else suffers.
Available on Kindle Unlimited or buy here: mybook.to/UnquietSoulsLizMistry
D.I. Gus McGuire Book 2: Uncoiled Lies
Secrets from the grave can come back to haunt you …
DI Gus McGuire and the team are back and have their work cut out.
Murdered prostitutes and a turf war between local gangsters takes the investigation into Bradford’s Immigrant communities where tensions run high.
To make matters worse McGuire is juggling an illicit relationship with his boss’s daughter and has fraught family relations.
Who is The Old Man?
What is the link between three dead prostitutes and a long forgotten murder?
Will McGuire and his team get the answers they want or is the uncomfortable truth much closer to home?
Available on Kindle Unlimited or buy here: mybook.to/UncoiledLies
D.I. Gus McGuire Book 3: Untainted Blood
Is Blood Thicker Than Water?
In a city that is already volatile, tensions mount after a Tory MP in Bradford Central is discredited leaving the door open for the extreme right-wing candidate, Graeme Weston, to stand in the resultant by-election.
However, Graeme Weston is not what he appears to be and with secrets jeopardising his political career, he must tread very carefully.
Meanwhile, a serial killer targets Asian men who lead alternatives lifestyles and delivers his own form of torture.
As DI Gus McGuire’s team close in, the deranged killer begins to unravel and in an unexpected twist the stakes are raised for Gus.
Are the murders linked to the political scandals or is there another motive behind them?
Available on Kindle Unlimited or buy here: mybook.to/UntaintedBloodebook
D.I. Gus McGuire Book 4 Uncommon Cruelty
Families, Lies and Murder.
DI Gus McGuire and his team are called in to investigate the disappearance of a teenage boy after his parents return from a weekend away, to find their home trashed and their son missing.
But that is just the beginning.
As the investigation unfolds, Gus must discover what links a violent bikers’ gang, a Muslim youth group and a fundamentalist American based Christian church.
Alongside this, two cases from the past come back to haunt DI Gus McGuire and his DS, Alice Cooper.
Gus has a lot to juggle, but will he cope?
Available on Kindle Unlimited or buy here: mybook.to/UncommonCruelty
D.I. Gus McGuire Book 5: Unspoken Truths
Intrigue, Espionage, Murder.
As DI Gus McGuire and his team navigate a complex web of intrigue, espionage, and murder in Bradford, Manchester and Saddleworth Moor, Gus is pushed to his physical and psychological limits.
First, a train between Manchester and Bradford is derailed by a vehicle carrying drugs, then a woman’s tortured body is discovered in Keighley. But when Gus’ brother-in-law goes missing, the investigation becomes personal.
Battling against the Beast from the East storm, Gus must uncover the links between the crimes and the reason behind the disappearance of his brother in law. As the body count increases, Gus sets his team loose on the Dark Web but how will he react when he discovers that things are not as they seem?
Meanwhile, DS Alice Cooper faces extreme danger in prison and, as evidence mounts against her, Gus' loyalties are pushed to the limit.
Can Gus stop the blueprint for a deadly bioweapon from falling into the wrong hands and track down a psychotic killer?
Never before has Gus faced a test as demanding as this….
Available on Kindle Unlimited or buy here: mybook.to/UnspokenTruths
D.I. Gus McGuire Book 6: Unseen Evil
Social Media can be the death of you ...
The Snapchat
A twisted killer comes to the attention of DI Gus McGuire and his team when a teenager receives a Snapchat image of his murdered friend.
The Killer
>
As the killer becomes bolder, using social media to publicise the murders, Gus fears there may be more than one murderer targeting young people.
The Stalker
Meanwhile, Gus comes under threat from a stalker who is not afraid to get up close and personal.
Can Gus protect his loved ones and catch the killer before another Snap is received?
Available on Kindle Unlimited or buy here: mybook.to/UnseenEvilLizMistry
DS Nikki Parekh Book 1 Last Request
When human remains are discovered under Bradford’s derelict Odeon car park, DS Nikita Parekh and her team are immediately called to the scene.
Distracted by keeping her young nephew out of trouble, Nikki is relieved when the investigation is transferred to the Cold Case Unit, and she can finally focus on her family.
But after the identity of the victim is revealed, she’s soon drawn back into the case. The dead man is a direct link to her painful past.
As the body count begins to rise, Nikki must do everything she can to stop the killer in their tracks before anyone else gets hurt – even if it means digging up secrets she had long kept hidden …
Available here: mybook.to/LastRequest
DS Nikki Parekh Book 2 Broken Silence
When DS Felicity Springer is reported missing after a police training conference, the countdown to find her begins…
On her way home after an exhausting weekend, with colleagues she can’t wait to escape, Felicity notices something odd about the white van in front of her. A hand has punched through the car’s rear light and is frantically waving, trying to catch her attention.
Desperate to help, Felicity dials 999 and calls it in. But whilst on the phone, she loses control of the car on the icy road, crashing straight into the vehicle ahead.
Pinned in the seat and unable to move, Felicity feels a sudden whoosh of cold air across her face. Someone has opened the passenger door… and they have a gun.
With Felicity missing and no knowledge of whether she is dead or alive, DS Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik race to find their friend and colleague.
But Felicity was harbouring a terrible secret, and with her life now hanging in the balance, Nikki can only hope that someone will come forward and break the silence…
Available here: mybook.to/BrokenSilencePB
DS Nikki Parekh Book 3 Dark Memories
Available here: