Valerie Keogh is a qualified nurse with a BA in English and an MA in American Literature. She qualified as a nurse but nowadays writes full-time. She has written two different series. The Hudson and Connolly series is based in Falmouth, UK. Nicola Connolly is a serial killer.
Revenge can take a lifetimeโฆ
When Detective Garda Sergeant Mike West and his partner, Garda Andrews, are called to a suspicious death they are shocked to find the small body of a child abandoned in a suitcase.
Who is she? No child has been reported missing.
Their search reaches outside Ireland but without success and soon another dead body takes their attention. There is a surfeit of suspects this time, but as the case evolves, the two detectives are stunned where it leads.
Meanwhile, someone is making trouble for Edel Johnson, and she is forced, eventually, to ask West for help.
Can West sort personal problems, solve professional cases and restore peace to Foxrock?
A murder mystery with a touch of romance, set in the Dublin suburbs. It will appeal to fans of authors such as Peter James, LJ Ross and Ruth Rendall.
*** This book was previously published as Death in Foxrock ***
West pointed toward the brambles and nettles that had invaded what had once been an orderly hedge. โTheyโre a good deterrent, Peter.โ
โAnd thereโs usually a chain around the gate,โ Andrews told him. โThe uniforms that answered the call used bolt cutters to get it off.โ
Raised voices alerted them to the arrival of Niall Kennedy, the pathologist. With a wave, he headed in their direction. He was wearing the biggest Wellington boots either man had ever seen, lifting his feet with exaggerated effort that made both men smile and shake their heads. Kennedy was a short man, not above five-five, and the boots, designed for a much taller person, made him look ridiculous.
โWeโve a new supplies officer,โ he explained, stopping in front of them, โhe must think weโre all giants. Iโll have to drop in on him and explain that itโs my personality thatโs oversized, not my feet. But never mind that,โ he said, waving it away like an irritating fly. โSorry, Iโm late. The traffic was stop-go the whole blasted way. A most inconvenient time to find a dead body,โ he joked before his eyes looked past the two men and saw the victim. โAh, God,โ he said, his face falling.
West wanted to snap that God wasnโt very much in evidence at the scene, but he bit his tongue. They all had their own way of dealing with what they faced. If a prayer, to the god that West wasnโt sure he believed in anymore, helped the pathologist, who was he to criticise?
He stepped away from the immediate scene, Andrews following behind, and they waited silently.
They werenโt waiting long. โThereโs not much to tell you,โ Kennedy said, joining them, his face unusually grave. โThereโs no obvious sign of injury, no broken bones.โ Pulling his gloves off, he rolled them up and shoved them into his pocket. โBased on ornamentation, itโs likely to be female, but thatโs all I can say until I get everything back to the morgue.โ