Friday 10 July 2020

New Release Spotlight & Extract: Deadly Secrets by Ann Girdharry



Deadly Secrets by Ann Girdharry

How long can you get away with murder?
In an idyllic Sussex town, Mr Quinn whispers a secret on his death bed. Hours later the person who cared for Quinn is killed.
Mr Quinn’s secret sets off events unlike anything Detective Grant and Psychologist Ruby Silver have ever seen.
A series of deaths follow as a killer tries to cover their twenty-year trail of murder by drowning.
Grant, Silver and the team must track a killer who has been getting away with murder for years. But when treachery, corruption and secrets from the past are used against Sergeant Tom Delaney, the killer turns their attention to one of Grant’s own…
Detective David Grant and Psychologist Ruby Silver are back in this unmissable new crime thriller. It can be read as the sequel to Deadly Motives or as a brilliant stand-alone. It's the perfect read for fans of authors like Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza and Helen H. Durrant.


Amazon UK           Amazon US 

Grant had seen all sorts of murders and this was a nasty one. A nurse living in a rented place which she kept pretty and fresh with butterfly paintings on the wall and flower pots on the windowsill? Michelle Dixon didn’t seem the type to attract this sort of trouble.
The neighbour who discovered the victim hadn’t come across as a closet psychopath either. It was time to find out what he had to say.
The first witness was inside an ambulance wrapped in a blanket because he had already removed his clothes for evidence. Under the blanket he was dressed in a paper suit.
Grant sat down beside him. The witness could not wash until samples had been taken from his skin and hands and hair. Unfortunately, this meant he was still smeared with the victim’s blood.
‘I’m Detective Chief Inspector Grant and I need to ask some important questions. The more information you can give, the more it will help me. How about we start with you telling me your name.’
Nothing much came out when the man opened his mouth. When he tried again, Grant leaned closer to hear.
‘Sean Fraser.’
‘Sean, can you tell me what happened here tonight.’
Grant listened patiently as Sean told him how he lived in the flat above. He’d heard the smoke alarm and it kept ringing so he’d come downstairs to check what was going on and found Michelle’s front door open. He didn’t remember calling the ambulance, nor trying desperately to stem the blood flow and save Michelle’s life, which is what the first responders had reported.
‘And what were you doing when you heard the alarm?’
‘I was on the phone to my girlfriend.’
Being on the phone wasn’t an alibi. They would definitely be checking that out and checking out Sean and his background, and his girlfriend’s.
‘How well did you know Ms Dixon?’
‘Not very. I moved in a few months ago and we say hello when we pass in the entrance. She’s a nurse and I work shifts too so I often saw her at odd hours. I work at the cinema complex.’
Grant showed Sean the photograph. ‘Was this a picture of Michelle Dixon as a girl?’
‘I think so. I saw it in the kitchen. She helped me move in some of my stuff and we had a coffee afterwards.’
‘Did you like her?’
‘Yes, I mean no, not in that way, I mean not in a weird way, she was just nice. I didn’t kill her, if that’s what you mean!’
‘Have you been inside her apartment many times?’
‘A couple. A parcel was delivered to me and it was for her so I brought it down. Only normal stuff.’
Sean made a grab for Grant’s arm. ‘She was still alive. When I got there she wasn’t completely… you know…’
That was news.
‘She tried to speak. I could hardly make it out and I’m not sure I heard her right.’
Grant put his gloved hand over Sean’s. ‘Tell me.’
‘Her lips barely moved but I think she said something like “pois-”? It’s been driving me mad trying to figure it out. I think she might have been trying to say poison.’
‘Anything else?’ Grant asked gently.
‘I tried to save her, I really did.’ Sean wiped at snot and tears.
‘I know you did. Her injuries were too severe.’
Grant patted the man’s hand and left him in the care of the paramedics.
The woman had been stabbed and bled to death. Why on earth would her dying word be poison?

Ann Girdharry is a British, crime thriller author.
She's a trained psychotherapist and worked as a manager in the not-for-profit sector for many years.

Ann is an avid reader and her favourites are crime and suspense. She regularly talks about her favourite reads to her newsletter subscribers. She enjoys travelling and apart from the UK she’s lived in the USA (where her first daughter was born), Norway (where her second daughter was born) and she currently lives in France.

She was an ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD Finalist 2017.

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