Sharon Bolton books in order

When consultant surgeon Tora Hamilton moved to the distant Shetland Islands with her husband, the last thing she ever expected was to discover the perfectly preserved body of a young woman buried in their new property.

The woman’s heart was seemingly ripped out of her chest within days of bearing a child.

An obstetrician by profession, Tora becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth, despite being warned not to do so by the police, her colleagues, and even her husband.

But when Tora ignores their pleas and keeps digging for more information, she attracts the attention of someone who is determined to keep the past buried.

Clara Benning is a young and smart veterinary surgeon who is used to leading a secluded life.

Left disfigured after a childhood accident, she prefers spending time with animals rather than people.

Called to offer her professional advice after a man dies following an alleged snakebite, Clara is left shocked after the victim's autopsy reveals a higher concentration of venom than could possibly be found in one snake.

Convinced that the killer is human, Clara—with the help of a neighbor and a queer reptile expert—embarks on a mission that leads her from an ancient ritual, a deserted house, and a fifty-year-old tragedy.

What she however doesn’t know is that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the past buried.

“Now you see her.”
Gillian has for the last two years been continually troubled by the mysterious disappearance of her young daughter.
Although a terrible inferno ravaged their home to the ground, Gillian still strongly believes that her daughter is still alive.

“Now you don’t.”
Tom, a ten-year old boy who lives next to an abandoned church, sees a mysterious girl playing there alone.
Is he however the only one who sees her? And is the girl trying to tell him something?

“Now you run.”
A new vicar doesn’t feel welcome upon arriving in town. What ominous secret could the town be hiding?

Famous killers are known to have fan clubs and Hamish Wolfe isn’t any different.

Imprisoned for the kidnapping and killing of three young women, he receives numerous letters from adoring fans on a daily basis.

Gorgeous, charming and convincing, his fans are not only convinced of his innocence, but they also believe that he is the man of their dreams.

Other than the fact that she lives a secluded and mysterious life, Maggie Rose is an accomplished lawyer and bestselling true-crime writer.

A serial winner who only takes cases that she can triumph in, Maggie is convinced to defend Hamish.

Although she thinks that she can’t fall for his charms, Maggie is in for a rude shock.

A young woman is viciously murdered right before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border.

Meanwhile, thirteen passengers board on a hot-air balloon. But in just an hour, the hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky, leaving all but one dead.

The sole survivor has seen the killer’s face. He however has also seen her face.

And now, he will stop at nothing to ensure that the only witness is quickly removed out of the picture.

Alone, and terrified with no one to turn to, she takes off in order to save herself.

The most terrifying danger of them all could however lie where she least expects it.

Young scientist Felicity Lloyd accepts a research assignment on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic, arguably one of the most isolated places on the planet.

The place seems like the perfect safe haven for Felicity who is trying to avoid her alienated husband, Freddie.

Recently released from prison for murder, Freddie won’t stop until he finds her.

But as the summer nears to an end, Felicity begins heaving a sigh of relief. Cruise ships won’t be visiting the area once winter sets in.

Only one more ship is scheduled to dock, and Felicity won’t know peace until she finds out whether or not her husband is on board.

A golden summer, and six talented friends are looking forward to the brightest of futures - until a daredevil game goes horribly wrong, and a woman and two children are killed.

18-year-old Megan takes the blame, leaving the others free to get on with their lives. In return, they each agree to a 'favor', payable on her release from prison.

Twenty years later Megan is free.

Let the games begin...

Return to the worlds of The Craftsman and Lacey Flint in this first short story collection from Sharon Bolton, International award-winning author of The Split.

This collection features eight short stories, each with a new introduction written by the author as well as the first three chapters of Sharon Bolton's latest novel The Pact.

From the world of the Craftsman

The Night Train

Alive!

All Souls' Eve

From the world of Lacey Flint

Mugwort and Moonbeams

Lacey's Wedding

From the world of Dead Woman Walking

Time Travel, Flight and Invisibility

In a world of its own...

Mr and Mrs Jansen and the Mermaid

And from the world of The Split

The Snow Bride

WPC Florence Lovelady made a name for herself after she arrested coffin-maker Larry Glassbrook for a series of child murders three decades ago. The crimes were devastating, as all the victims were buried alive.

The case however ended as soon as it had begun, as Larry confessed to the crimes.

But thirty years later, the events from the past begin repeating themselves.

This is puzzling, as the crimes happen long after Larry died.

Could Florence have gotten it all wrong decades ago? Or is a sinister force at work?

And most importantly, will she unearth the truth before it’s too late?

AN OLD ENEMY IS LAID TO REST . . . AND A NEW CRIME IS DISCOVERED

Florence Lovelady, the most senior serving policewoman in Britain, visits convicted serial killer Larry Glassbrook in prison. Larry is coming to the end of his life but has one last task for Florence: to learn the identity of the remains discovered at children's home Black Moss Manor. The town Florence escaped narrowly with her life still holds many secrets. Will she finally learn the truth? Or will time run out for her first?

Lacey Flint is a young detective constable who has neither worked on a murder case, nor seen a corpse up close, despite her life-long fascination with Jack the Ripper.

But upon arriving at her car one evening, Lacey is shocked to find a viciously stabbed woman who ends up dying in her arms.

Caught up in her maiden search for a killer, Lacey won’t rest until the perpetrator is brought to book.

Things however turn personal when Lacey receives a letter written in blood.

Will the young detective be able to catch a copycat killer whose notorious inspiration has never been found?

When Cambridge University is rocked by a series of suicides, DC Lacey Flint is assigned there on an undercover mission by DI Mark Joesbury.

Masquerading as a vulnerable and depressed student, the only person who knows Lacey’s real identity is Psychiatrist Evi Oliver—or so they think.

As the two women look into the shadowy side of the university, they uncover a shocking trend.

And when Lacey begins having terrible nightmares similar to the ones reported by the dead girls, it becomes increasingly clear who the next victim will be.

It is said that snow creates a blanket that covers everything that is bad, filthy and ugly in the world.

However, beneath the carpet of white lies terrible ugliness.

It’s 11 November 2012, in London. The festive season isn’t far away.

Long hidden feelings burst in a shocking wave of violence.

A youthful Muslim man is viciously murdered by a masked group of people.

The only person who witnesses the terrifying crime is DC Lacey Flint—or so she thinks…

Twelve-year-old Barney Roberts becomes fascinated by a series of murders.

He is aware that the victims are all boys, just like him, and that their lifeless bodies were discovered on the nearby river banks.

Barney also knows that the killer will strike again—perhaps sooner than everybody else thinks.

London detectives Dana Tulloch and Mark Joesbury won’t be able to find any clues.

Lacey Flint, Barney's friend and neighbor, won’t have to be involved as she is on leave from her job as a London police detective.

But as the clock ticks and violence intensifies, Lacey and Barney know that they can’t make any wrong steps if they are to make it through alive.

NB: This book is also known as Like This, For Ever.

Police sergeant Lacey Flint, who now lives in a houseboat on the River Thames, has become part of London's strange and marvellous riverboat community.

Having taken up swimming in the Thames, she draws closer to Detective Mark Joesbury, and even finds happiness as she begins recovering from the terrible events of the last few months.

Danger is however never too far.

When she comes across a lifeless body in the water, and ominous offerings start appearing in her home, Lacey fears the worst.

On her new job with the river police, the river is the last place that she should be.

“It’s a beautiful evening. About a thousand people are in the vicinity of Westminster Bridge. But in exactly thirty minutes, many of them will be dead.”

Mark Joesbury, who works with Scotland Yard’s Covert Operations Unit, is on a covert mission.

Fully immersed in the plans of a terrorist group to unleash a devastating attack at the heart of London, he will do whatever it takes to stop them.

As the terrorists begin to target some of the most popular landmarks in the city, it no longer becomes just a battle to save the lives of numerous strangers, but rather a desperate mission to save DC Lacey Flint—the love of his life.

When a baby is snatched from its pram and cast into the river Thames, off-duty police officer Lacey Flint is there to prevent disaster. But who would want to hurt a child?

DCI Mark Joesbury has been expecting this. Monitoring a complex network of dark web sites, Joesbury and his team have spotted a new terrorist threat from the extremist, women-hating, group known as 'incels' or 'involuntary celibates.' Joesbury's team are trying to infiltrate the ring of power at its core, but the dark web is built for anonymity, and the incel army is vast.

Pressure builds when the team learn the snatched child was just the first in a series of violent attacks designed to terrorize women. Worse, the leaders of the movement seem to have singled out Lacey as the embodiment of everything they hate, placing her in terrible danger...

It’s the month of March. The night is clear, cold and as black as can be.

The Worm Moon is the name given to the full moon in March.

Despite its sinister name, it marks the end of winter and the emergence of earthworms from the frozen ground.

Although dark moons aren’t ordinarily named, they are sometimes referred to as the dead moons.

People light up their fires and draw their curtains whenever the dark moons dominate the sky.

The Craftsman is the only one who welcomes the dark moon.

Alone in the town, he is awake, ready to start work.