Forthcoming Books from Transworld

 January 2024

Argylle is by Elly Conway. A luxury train speeding towards Moscow and a date with destiny. A CIA plane downed in the jungles of the Golden Triangle. A Nazi hoard entombed in the remote mountains of South-West Poland. A missing treasure, the eighth wonder of the world, lost for seven decades. One Russian magnate's dream of restoring a nation to greatness has set in motion a chain of events which will take the world to the brink of chaos. Only Frances Coffey, the CIA's most legendary spymaster, can prevent it. But to do so, she needs someone special. Enter Argylle, a troubled agent with a tarnished past who may just have the skills to take on one of the most powerful men in the world. If only he can save himself first...

Some comebacks can be murder . . . Stella is enjoying life as an almost student, or at least she is until a man falls from the sky right in front of her, leaving a big old hole in the pavement for Manchester Council to fill. The obvious question of how he ended up in the sky in the first place has no obvious answers, which is where The Stranger Times come in. But this isn't just the hunt for another story. Dark powers think Stella might have been involved and the only way she and the team can prove her innocence is to find out what the hell is really going on. And what have dodgy gear, disturbed graves and a decommissioned rock star got to do with all this? Vincent Banecroft has problems of his own in the form of a tall, dark but-definitely-not-handsome man dressed like a funeral who has been sent to make the paper's editor atone for his sins. Once he finds out exactly what that entails, Banecroft is not keen. Being banished to a Hellscape for all eternity looks like being no fun at all, not least because he has that pale Irish skin that burns really easily . . . All that plus territorial ghouls, homicidal felines, eternal (and seemingly unstoppable) gnomes and a celebrity Who's Who that'd put a royal wedding to shame, and you're looking at a wild few days for The Stranger Times. Relight My Fire is by C K McDonnell. 

Maggie Bird is many things. A chicken farmer. A good neighbour. A seemingly average retiree living in the seaside town of Purity. She's also a darned good rifle shot. And she never talks about her past. But when an unidentified body is left on Maggie's driveway, she knows it's a calling card from old times. It's been fifteen years since the failed mission that ended her career as a spy, and cost her far more than her job. Step forward the 'Martini Club' - Maggie's silver-haired book group (to anyone who asks), and a cohort of former spies behind closed doors. With the help of her old friends - and always one step ahead of the persistent local cop - Maggie might still be able to save the life she's built. The Spy Coast is the first novel in the Martini Club series by Tess Gerritsen.

February 2024

Knife Skills for Beginnners is by Orlando Murrin. A recipe for disaster. When chef Paul Delamare takes a job teaching at an exclusive residential cookery school in Belgravia, the only thing he expects his students to murder is his taste buds. But on the first night, the unthinkable happens: someone turns up dead... The school rests on a knife-edge. The police are convinced Paul is the culprit. After all, he’s good with a blade, was first on the scene – and everyone knows it doesn’t take much to push a chef over the edge. To prove his innocence, he must find the killer. Could it be one of his students? Or the owner of the school – a woman with secrets and a murky past? It all boils down to murder. If Paul can’t solve the mystery fast – as well as teach his students how to make a perfect hollandaise sauce – he’ll be next to get the chop.

Everything is a clue. Bonnie arrives on a remote sea fort off the coast of England to take part in a mysterious reality TV show. Competing against seven strangers, she must solve a series of puzzles to win the prize money, but this is no game - and the consequences of failure are deadly. No one leaves. Under scrutiny from the watching public, the contestants quickly turn on one another. Who will sacrifice the most for wealth and fame? And why can't Bonnie shake the creeping sense that they are not alone? The only way out is to win. When the first contestant is found dead, Bonnie begins to understand the dark truth at the heart of this twisted competition: there's a killer inside the fort, and anyone could be next. If Bonnie wants to escape, she needs to win... Are you ready to play? The Escape Room is by L D Smithson.

March 2024

Listen for the Lie is by Amy Tintera. Am I a murderer? You tell me . . . You probably already know about me. Lucy Chase, the woman who doesn’t remember murdering her best friend. You all think I did it. That’s OK, I get it. Being found wandering the streets covered in her blood wasn't a great look. Believe me, I’m as frustrated as you are. I’d love to know if I’m a murderer – it’s the sort of thing you really should know about yourself, isn’t it? And now, thanks to true-crime podcast Listen for the Lie, I finally have the chance to find out. But will I be able to live with myself if it turns out it was me? And if it wasn’t, will digging into the secrets of the night I forgot make me the next target of whoever did?

April 2024

Clickbait is by L C North. 'We're not famous anymore. We're notorious.' For over a decade, the Lancasters were celebrity royalty, with millions tuning in every week to watch their reality show, Living with the Lancasters. But then an old video emerges of one of their legendary parties. Suddenly, they're in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons: witnesses swore they'd seen missing teenager Bradley Wilcox leaving the Lancaster family home on the night of the party, but the video tells a different story. Now true crime investigator and YouTuber Tom Isaac is on the case. He's determined to find out what really happened to Bradley - he just needs to read between the Lancasters' lies . . . Because when the cameras are always rolling, it won't be long until someone cracks.

Florence Butterfield has lived an extraordinary life full of travel, passion and adventure. But, at eighty-seven, she suspects there are no more surprises to come her way. Then, one midsummer's night, something terrible happens - so strange and unexpected that Florrie is suspicious. Was this really an accident, or is she living alongside a would-be murderer? The only clue is a magenta envelope, discarded earlier that day. And Florrie - cheerfully independent but often overlooked - is the only person determined to uncover the truth. As she does, Florrie finds herself looking back on her own life . . . and a long-buried secret, traced in faded scars across her knuckles, becomes ever harder to ignore. The Night in Question is by Susan Fletcher. 

The Other Tenant is by Lesley Kara. ‘Dont get too comfortable”. Marlow has always lived in unusual places. But when she accepts a position as a live-in property guardian, she finds herself moving somewhere she swore she’d never return to. Right from the start, she knows it’s a terrible mistake. The elegant Victorian school is due to be turned into luxury apartments, but its eerie, empty corridors are full of Marlow’s worst memories. And now something sinister is happening on the site. One of the other tenants has disappeared without warning, and Marlow suspects that the nine other guardians know far more than they’re letting on. She’s determined to find out what happened to the missing woman – but which of these strangers can she trust? And can she uncover the truth before her own past catches up with her?

May 2024

When we Were Silent is by Fiona McPhillips. Lou Manson is an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Beyond the granite pillars and the wrought-iron gates is a world of wealth, privilege and potential. But Highfield is also hiding a dark secret – and Lou is here to expose it. When Lou befriends the beautiful and talented Shauna Power, her plans are thrown into turmoil. Speaking out against the school would mean betraying Shauna, and Lou soon discovers that the Highfield elite will go to any lengths to protect their own reputation…even when the consequences are fatal. Thirty years later, Lou is called to testify in a new lawsuit against Highfield. But telling the truth means confronting her past – and there is one story she swore she’d never tell…

2024, and China is massing troops on its coast across the Strait from Taiwan. This time it looks like they're serious about invasion - an act that would result in war between the People's Republic and the US and its allies, including the UK. But Britain's Secret Intelligence Service has an agent in play: someone close to the top of the Chinese Communist Party and who's ready to pass on vital secrets that could defuse the escalating situation. But as the handover takes place in a Hong Kong back street cafe, the agent's MI6 handler is snatched before she can transmit the data back to London and disappears. There are few clues as to who might be responsible. Is it China's infamous state security agency, the MSS? Or has another, less predictable player entered the game? MI6 field operative Luke Carlton is despatched to track down the missing agent. Accompanying him is his Mandarin-speaking colleague, the highly capable Jenny Li. But as they follow a succession of tip-offs that take them from shady Macau casinos to tawdry night clubs, Luke begins to sense that something's not right - that they are being deliberately strung along. As the clock ticks, global tensions heighten and the two SIS operatives have traced their target to Taiwan - a country frantically preparing for imminent invasion. And there, in a remote mountain temple hideaway, Luke and Jenny stumble across what's really going on. But China's People's Liberation Army has already begun to flex its hi-tech muscles, in Taiwan and closer to home, and suddenly the world is holding its breath . . . Invasion is by Frank Gardner.

It's 1951 and the forces of Joseph Stalin are closing in on a brave band of resistance fighters holding out in the dark forests of Lithuania. One must escape the net: Greta, best and bravest of the partisans. Her mission is to cross the Iron Curtain and find new allies in the fight against Soviet rule. But the West is full of thieves and killers too, and they are harder to spot... The Exile (aka The Stiletto Artist) is by Patrick Worrall. 

June 2024

Someone In The Attic is by Andrea Mara. You thought you were home alone. Think again... It could happen to you.  Anya is enjoying a relaxing bath when she hears a noise in the roof. Through the open bathroom door, she sees the attic hatch swing open, and a masked figure drops to the floor. Thirty seconds later, Anya is dead. Even in a wealthy neighbourhood like this.  Across town, Anya's old school friend, Julia, sees an online video of a masked figure climbing out of an attic. She suddenly realises why the footage is eerily familiar: it was filmed inside her house in a luxury gated community, designed to keep intruders out. Even with friends like these. Why would a stranger target Julia? Unless of course, it's not a stranger at all.

Lynch arrives in London, looking over his shoulder for a past he cannot escape. His phone is dead, he has no money, no contacts. He is alone. Until he runs into a wealthy young woman, Bobbie Pierce, who mistakes him for her brother, Heydon, who disappeared 5 years ago without a trace. The resemblance is striking. Or so she says. At her suggestion, Lynch goes to the luxurious Pierce family home, posing as Heydon to try and con some money out of them. But far from succeeding, his subterfuge is instantly discovered, forcing him into a devil’s bargain – their silence for his cooperation in finding out what really happened to Heydon. But Lynch’s investigation goes too deep and soon reveals the dark world in which Heydon Pierce was immersed - and the dangerous and powerful people who hunt there. It seems that everyone has good reasons to keep Heydon buried in the past. In such a conspiracy of mirrors, just one thing is certain: the only person he can trust is himself. Imposter's Syndrome is by Joseph Knox.

The Estate is by Denzil Meyrick. Every family has a secret. The mega-rich Pallander family are used to luxury – a castle in the Scottish Highlands, a villa in Tuscany, a billion-dollar fortune and an island in the Caribbean – but their perfect life is about to be shattered. Every father has a favourite. Sebastian Pallander dies, leaving a pitiful amount of money to his wife and children. His family fight over the scraps as old rivalries and bitter jealousies come to the surface. And when Pallander’s son is killed in mysterious circumstances, everyone suspects foul play. Every killer has a motive. After a desperate race for survival, the relatives gather at their estate to weather the storm. They all begin to wonder: who will be next? Where has all their money gone? And will any of them get what they truly deserve?