The Book Folks

09/04/2025

We're joining the Joffe Books family!

JOFFE BOOKS ACQUIRES THE BOOK FOLKS. JOFFE CEMENTS ITS POSITION AS THE UK’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER   JASPER JOFFE, CEO of leading independent publisher Joffe Books, has acquired The Book Folks from previous owner Erik Empson for an undisclosed sum. This latest purchase cemen

24/03/2025

The first book in Nicola Clifford's new detective series set in Pembrokeshire is proving to be very popular with readers, so we're very excited to announce the publication of the second mystery, A KILLING ON THE COAST PATH, out now on Kindle and in paperback!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DYDV5JS6/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYDV5JS6/

A normally quiet community in Pembrokeshire is shaken by an escalation of serious incidents

Having just about survived a head-to-head with her previous boss, uniform sergeant Vicki Blunt is enjoying a quiet night patrolling the streets of Haverfordwest when a woman in distress catches her attention.

Rosie’s in the middle of the road, screaming in despair. She’s just returned home to find her husband Rhodri gone, and her flat ransacked, raising concerns he’s in grave danger.

Suspicion falls on the landlord, Huw Baines, an oddball music teacher who’s been known to find his tenants’ music taste – and volume – disagreeable to say the least.

When a body is found at the bottom of a cliff at Musselwick Beach, the investigation takes a more serious turn. Foul play or accident? Murder or su***de?

But as if Vicki didn’t have enough to do, the usually sedate, remote area of Wales soon delivers more headaches and heartbreaks.

Under pressure to deliver results, Vicki will once again find herself at loggerheads with the powers that be. By sticking to her guns she might prove her worth, or find it all backfires…

A KILLING ON THE COAST PATH is the second standalone title in this exciting new series of detective novels by Nicola Clifford. Look out for the first book A MURDER IN PEMBROKESHIRE also free with Kindle Unlimited and available in paperback.

Nicola Clifford is also the author of the nine-book mystery series THE WELSH CRIME MYSTERIES which begins with NO REFUGE.

If you enjoy fiction by Cheryl Rees-Price, Pippa McCathie, Rhys Dylan, and Simon McCleave, you’ll love these books!

19/03/2025

These great books just keep on coming! Our new release, NOT MY VALENTINE, a detective mystery by Tony Bassett Author. Out now on Kindle, soon in paperback! Just £1.99 / $2.99 to download, or FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F1YTLKNV
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1YTLKNV

The most romantic day of the year turns into a nightmare…

Having returned from a date with her new boyfriend, Lydia is fatally attacked in her home. A burglary gone wrong or a planned assault?

Detectives from Heart of England Police investigate and try to find out more about the victim. She was much loved by family and colleagues. But maybe someone loved her too much.

Attention turns to Lydia’s boyfriend, Roman, when it transpires that he is the son of a local crime boss known to associate with the feared West Side Gang.

DS Sunita Roy believes he is hiding something, but will have to tread carefully – the criminals have connections in the force.

Despite having strong intuition, Roy is struggling. There is something missing from the picture and it could be a secret taken to the grave.

NOT MY VALENTINE is the seventh book in the Roy and Roscoe crime fiction series by Tony Bassett. The full list of books, all available on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback from Amazon, is as follows:

MURDER ON OXFORD LANE
THE CROSSBOW STALKER
MURDER OF A DOCTOR
OUT FOR REVENGE
HEIR TO MURDER
IT NEVER RAINS
NOT MY VALENTINE

14/03/2025

Grab this gripping mystery, completely FREE to download on Kindle right now! NOTHING BUT SMILES, a DCI Gawn Girvin crime fiction novel by Linda Hagan.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CCP9ZJ7C/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCP9ZJ7C/

A serial stalker is terrorising women on the streets of Belfast. The victims wake up with no recollection of the night before, but with a smiley-face calling card daubed on their bodies. DCI Gawn Girvin takes on the case although before long she herself is targeted. She must catch the sick creep before matters escalate.

11/03/2025

It's release day! Ric Brady's latest private detective mystery POISONED ON THE MOOR is out now as an ebook, and coming soon in paperback. Just £1.99 or $2.99 on Kindle or free with Kindle Unlimited. Start reading now!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DZYY9NVW/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZYY9NVW/

A retired detective seeks answers to a shocking multiple murder in Yorkshire

Henry Ward is happily enjoying the spring sun with his trusted wire fox terrier Tessa when resource-strapped West Yorkshire Police call on him to help with a bizarre case.

A garden party has just turned to tragedy, with three guests dead and one hospitalised. It looks like cyanide poisoning.

Clearly not simply a case of undercooked sausages on the barbecue, alongside a short-tempered DS Ellie Hargreaves, Henry interviews the survivors. But the group of close friends appears determined to keep secrets from the police, and one another.

Soon the case attracts media attention, meaning Henry’s old rival, Superintendent Samuel Murphy, is even more impatient than usual to get quick results. A clash is inevitable.

Regardless, just as they seem to be getting close to some answers, Henry is dragged into a press scandal and has to swallow a bitter pill from the past.

Will Henry get the break he needs to crack the case, settle his scores, and prove to Murphy he’s still the better cop?

POISONED ON THE MOOR is the seventh standalone title in this British detective mystery series by Ric Brady. The full list of books, FREE with Kindle Unlimited and available in paperback and hardback, is as follows:

MURDER ON A YORKSHIRE MOOR
BUTCHER ON THE MOOR
MISSING ON ILKLEY MOOR
DETECTIVE ON THE MOOR
COLD CASE ON THE MOOR
SHOOTER ON THE MOOR
POISONED ON THE MOOR

08/03/2025

07/03/2025

Staying in this Friday night? Have one on us! John Dean's brilliant mystery THE GIRL IN THE MEADOW, completely FREE to download worldwide now!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B5RD7FS6/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5RD7FS6/

When the body of a young woman is discovered under the floorboards of an isolated house during its renovation, questions are raised about DCI Jack Harris’ own potential connection to the site. Will he clear his name or will his reputation be forever besmirched in the rural Pennine community?

06/03/2025

Our brand new release. FBI Special Agent Ilona Farris returns in this gripping serial killer mystery thriller. Just 99p to download on Kindle right now, and soon in paperback from Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DZD9KFSF/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DZD9KFSF/

An obsessed killer plays games with the living and the dead.

One rainy night in Seattle, the body of a young woman is found outside a dance studio. Cause of death, a single gunshot wound to the head.

The victim is recognised by her former teacher as a student who disappeared four years ago.

The FBI’s advanced AI system, Themis, alerts Special Agent Ilona Farris, who quickly links the case to similar deaths in Washington State.

All the unfortunate souls were holding a page torn from the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. But the mutilated bodies tell a story far darker than those found in folklore.

What happens to the victims before they are found, years later? And can the choice of fairy tale in each killing hold the key to discovering the motive of the murderer?

THE FAIRY TALE MURDERS is the fifth standalone thriller in a gripping series about a special FBI unit focused on seemingly unsolvable crimes. The full list is as follows:

1. THE PIPER’S CHILDREN
2. THE WHISTLER’S OMEN
3. THE STORM KILLINGS
4. THE DEVIL’S ARTIST
5. THE FAIRY TALE MURDERS

All FREE with Kindle Unlimited and available in paperback.

25/02/2025

We're absolutely thrilled to launch a brand new crime fiction series this week, with Nicola Clifford's A Murder in Pembrokeshire which sees the worst of crimes come to one of the UK's loveliest places. Vicki Blunt is our cop, with a fire for justice burning in her heart, battling superiors who want to see her fail. Out now on Kindle for just 99p or 99c for launch, free with Kindle Unlimited and available in paperback.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DYF29MWL/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYF29MWL/

The second novel, A Killing on the Coast Path, is already on pre-order for a 24th March release!

The first novel in an absolutely gripping new female detective series set in West Wales

Sergeant Vicki Blunt has been demoted to uniform after challenging her snide superior, DI Glyn Hughes. But when a woman is found dead in her car, with CID short-staffed, she finds herself having to do the legwork.

The deceased is Christina Page, a teacher at the local primary school. Having suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, it looks like a tragic case of su***de.

Vicki meets her family, her sleazy boss, and her colleagues at the school, and learns that Christina was being tormented by trolls online. Enough to push her over the edge.

Yet very much still the detective, something doesn’t quite add up for Vicki. She notes bruises to the body, and the car having been tampered with. Can she risk rocking the boat?

As she follows her nose, her mind is also on a miscarriage of justice that has seen an innocent woman jailed. Her burning desire to right past wrongs might further jeopardise her career, even if it offers the chance to get back at her boss.

A MURDER IN PEMBROKESHIRE is the first novel in a new detective fiction series set in beautiful West Wales. Look out for the second book, A KILLING ON THE COAST PATH, available to pre-order now from Amazon.

Nicola Clifford is also the author of the nine-book detective series THE WELSH CRIME MYSTERIES which begins with NO REFUGE.

If you enjoy fiction by Cheryl Rees-Price, Pippa McCathie, John Carson, and Rhys Dylan, you’ll love these books!

24/02/2025

Scottish author Robert McNeill's CONFESSION TO MURDER is just 99p or 99c as an ebook this week. Download now and discover this detective series set in Edinburgh with the formidable DI Jack Knox.

https://thebookfolks.com/book/confession-to-murder/

After a man confesses in church that he has killed a girl, having wrangled with his conscience the priest tells the police. It would be easy for them to dismiss the confessor as a crank, but DI Knox has a hunch the victim could be a missing Canadian tourist. Yet with few other leads, it will take brilliant detective work to catch the killer.

21/02/2025

Cheryl Rees-Price's bestselling new release has been discounted to just 99p or 99c for the next few days. Grab it now and find out all the secrets BURIED DEEP WITHIN!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DNZFR125
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNZFR125

When a baby goes missing during her christening party, the local community comes out in force to help the search. Some of them were at the do, and are considerably worse for wear. Detective Meadows tries to make sense out of the chaos, and prevent people from jumping to conclusions about the likely culprit. But tempers are flaring. Enough to test the patience of this cool-headed cop.

19/02/2025

Mid-week excitement as we publish the thrilling new installment in Christine McHaines' private detective series, with the standalone title THE MYSTERY OF THE PERFECT PROPERTY. Out now on Kindle, and in paperback tomorrow!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DXQ35733/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXQ35733/

Private investigators build a case on shaky foundations

Quentin Cadbury’s early morning run raises his heart rate more than usual when he discovers an injured dog. More so because next to the animal is the dead body of its male owner.

The police turn up – quickly, for once – and secure the scene. Quentin takes the dog home to nurse it back to health. An arrangement his resident cat won’t appreciate.

But when a journalist tells him that the victim had been about to divulge secret information about goings-on in the property market, Quentin’s curiosity gets the better of him.

Shrugging off concerns that they themselves are being followed, Quentin and his partner, the delectable Wanda Merrydrew, can’t resist investigating further.

They stake out a suspicious estate agent dealing in luxury homes. Yet when the journalist goes missing, the case becomes very real indeed.

The Mystery of the Perfect Property is a humorous cozy mystery by Christine McHaines, the fifth book in a popular, easy-to-read series. The full list is as follows:

1. The Mystery of the Hidden Fortune
2. The Mystery of the Lucky Cat
3. The Mystery Down Under
4. The Mystery on the Cornish Coast
5. The Mystery of the Perfect Property

This novel will appeal to fans of Rachel Ward, Anita Waller, T.A. Williams, and Traude Ailinger.

All of these books are FREE with Kindle Unlimited and available in paperback.

17/02/2025

Open a good red to breathe, sharpen the knives, and get down and dirty to feast on a quick-witted Munro and West detective story. Pete Brassett's HUBRIS, just 99p for a limited time on Kindle.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0868NFHS1/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0868NFHS1/

A sheep farmer gets the shock of his life when he boards a stranded vessel. What he finds there will kick off a murder investigation involving a missing girl and a sailor who hasn’t the stomach for life. DI Charlie West leads the inquiry in a tight-knit Scottish fishing community.

FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

10/02/2025

This week's new release! Light-hearted private detective fiction set in Norn Iron by Robert McCracken. Sleuths Sidney and Ursula Valentine return in THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY MURDERS and get sent around the houses when a woman asks them to find her missing sister.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DWN92JXN/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWN92JXN/

Just 99p or 99c for launch and FREE with Kindle Unlimited. Out in paperback tomorrow!

Easy money has a bitter price for an unusual crime-solving duo

Father and daughter private investigator team Sidney and Ursula Valentine are bored out of their wits surveying potholes in Belfast when they land a job from a woman looking for her missing sister.

With a generous retainer in hand, they down clipboard and pen, and in good spirits head out to her address among the small cluster of new-build homes in the countryside near the famous Giant’s Causeway.

Yet, after stumbling upon a body, they are led up the garden path and around the houses with tales of winning lottery tickets, and long-lost treasure from a Spanish ship.

With Sidney succumbing to the amber distractions of Bushmills and Ursula fighting off the affections of a smitten oaf, trying to make sense of these odd stories without getting arrested or igniting the ire of locals, will be far from straightforward.

Can the detectives get their heads together to separate fact from fiction and locate their quarry, or will they be outwitted on the legendary Irish coastline?

THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY MURDERS is the second standalone title in a humorous private detective mystery series, which begins with THE MOURNE MOUNTAIN MURDERS, by Robert McCracken, author of the bestselling DI Tara Grogan crime books.

08/02/2025

A chilling read for a chilly Saturday evening? Sorted, with Ray Clark's IMPALED. Just 99p or 99c to download for a short time!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CVXMMC28/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVXMMC28/

When DI Stewart Gardener is called to investigate a crime, he has no idea of the terrible scene that awaits him. The co**se of a man has been found with nails driven into his chest, and no hands. There are no witnesses to the crime, just reports of a strangely dressed man seen nearby. Gardener feels a serial killer is at work, and the clock is ticking.

Free with Kindle Unlimited!

06/02/2025

Four box sets at a rock bottom price to download on Kindle!

The Mid Wales Mysteries by Nicola Clifford (Books 1-3)

Light detective fiction set in the remote hills of Wales

https://geni.us/MidWales

Perfect Crimes by Nathan Senthil (Books 1-3)

Immersive serial killer thriller fiction set in the US

https://geni.us/PerfectCrimes

The Midlands Murders by Tony Bassett (Books 1-3)

An Asian detective battles crime and other problems in the Midlands

https://geni.us/MidlandsMurder

The Galway Homicides by David Pearson (Books 10-12)

Irish cops buzz about the sticks on the west coast

https://geni.us/Galway

04/02/2025

Special offer for crime fiction fans! SQUEALER the second book by one of our great new signings of 2024, Sadie Norman about young detective Ann McArthur who has a not wholly unjustified reputation for being a loose cannon. Try it now for just 99p/c on Kindle!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DCC5K5D4/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCC5K5D4/

Hot on the heels of the ex-husband of a murdered woman, rookie Norfolk detective Ann “Crazy” McArthur must pe*****te the wall of a close-knit, churchgoing community to find the truth about the crime. If she does, she might win the respect of her colleagues. But can she keep a cool head, and her complicated love life under wraps?

03/02/2025

If you've been enjoying Carol Cole's debut novel MURDER IN THE NEW FOREST, you'll be delighted to hear that her second book in the DI Callum MacLean series STRAW IN THE WIND is now available on Kindle and in paperback from Amazon, FREE with KU!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DQQ6J99J
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQQ6J99J

A suspicious death, a missing girl, and very few leads... New Forest police are grasping at straws

Whilst Detective Inspector Callum MacLean is settling into his new role in rural Hampshire, a young woman is found dead in the neighbourhood, her identity unknown.

For a close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else, this seems very odd, but when a local child goes missing shortly afterwards, panic sets in.

It’s not the first such case for the Scottish inspector, yet the last one in Glasgow ended in tragedy. This is personal. And when Callum’s team don’t share his sense of urgency, he will have to put his foot down.

It doesn’t help that Sergeant Daisy Donaldson, with whom Callum had developed a rapport, has doubts about his theories. Like the weather, relations are becoming stormy.

As the search gets underway to find the little girl, last seen feeding her ponies, all potential suspects have rock solid alibis. The only lead is a white van seen near the area in both cases.

Yet Callum begins to fear they might not be the only ones looking for the missing girl. Will they find her before tragedy strikes again?

STRAW IN THE WIND is the second standalone detective mystery by Carol Cole featuring DI Callum MacLean. Look out for the bestselling first book, MURDER IN THE NEW FOREST. Great for fans of Rachel McLean, J.R. Ellis and LJ Ross!

Both are available on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback from Amazon.