Bøker av Pat McDonald

Winston Henry always envied the night shift staff up at the old asylum, until there was a vacancy and he found himself working it. Then it was like he'd woken up to what Echo Heights was really like, and everything changed. He remembered the old saying, "be careful what you wish for," because it may come true. But it wasn't exactly what he thought it would be. Up till then, Winston had never been one for listening to gossip; he avoided people if he could. He thought the stories they told about the things they heard or saw were all made up for attention seeking, so he paid them no heed. That was until he changed to the night shift. About The Author:British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS, and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist. This is her first published short story and her sixteenth book. She was inspired by her own experiences working in an old Victorian asylum.

In Book 3, As Time Goes By: Secrets and Lies, Bart Bridges and Emily Hobbs are partners in The March of Time clock shop, where they formalise The Bartholomew and Hobbs Detective Agency, initially to find Emily's father and cousin Peter. The investigation leads to enquiries about the sudden hit-and-run death of a local man, which uncovers a tangled web of drug dealing and money laundering. Gina, a young girl who works at the local Co-op, knows an awful lot about everyone in the village. Is she really just a student, or something entirely different? Emily lives in a strange cottage on the Balmoral estate with Lily, whose ex-husband Martin, now in prison for murder and rape, finds every means available to make her life miserable. Bart is plagued by his past deed of helping Lily dispose of her car by using Anna and Warren Doyle, when her father, the Russian oligarch Grigoriy Novikov, traces her to him. Who is the Bogeyman written large on the graffiti in the Tour Bus Building? Will Emily and Bart be able to unravel all the secrets and lies in time to save their closest friends from becoming collateral damage? About The Author:British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist.

The March of Time is book 2 in the Bart Bridges PI series.Book 1, Echoes of Doubt, found Bart in the Witness Protection Programme, having changed his name to Cyrus Bartholomew, a clock maker.When things begin to go wrong and dead bodies pile up, Bart no longer feels safe, so he runs.After another change of name, Bart leaves the Witness Protection Programme, moving to the Highlands of Scotland, where he takes his beloved clocks and settles in the shadows of the Cairngorms.Now known as Sirus Jeffries, Bart finds the slow Highland pace of life suits him well. However, he can''t forget his private investigator background, finding other waifs and strays needing his help.When a local ghillie goes missing after bringing Bart one of Castle Daingneach''s clocks to repair, he is drawn into the search to find him. Bart is being sought by police to give evidence against Toni Maola, now on remand awaiting trial. Fraught with danger, it''s just a matter of time before Maola finds him to stop him from testifying.Will he be found before time runs out? Tick tock!About The Author:British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager for the NHS, and also in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Now a full-time novelist, she says, "I wrote this second book to find out what happened to Bart Bridges and other characters from book 1, placing him in Scotland, where I have many happy memories."

The Day After is Book 4 in the Blue Woods mystery series, featuring Hugo Bott.What happened to Hugo Bott after thirty years as a beat officer? Nobody really knows because they didn''t see him leave when he retired. The quaint cottage where he lived was rented out, and he just disappeared. Superintendent Luc Wariner is the newly assigned divisional commander of a quiet subdivision, that is, until the discovery of the brutal murders of Major Edward Barrington-Marsh and his wife, Cecily, in Upper Postle. He sends for his old friend and major crime unit colleague, Detective Inspector Aidey Carter, to investigate the murders and his suspicions regarding his CID unit.When sightings are made early on the morning of the murders of a tall quiet stranger with a military gait visiting the village store at Postle, Luc and Aidey are reminded of Hugo Bott, their old colleague. Could he have finally found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, for first time in his life?It is, after all, The Day After . . .Author Bio:British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager and programme manager in the NHS, and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist. This is her eleventh book, fourth in the Blue Woods trilogy, making this now a series. It came about when "I was asked by one reader to give Hugo Bott his own book, and told by another American reader she missed the Blue Woods characters. I have combined the two and dedicated this book to both of them." 

Book Synopsis: Pennies from Heaven is the fourth book in Pat McDonald’s Penny series.Benjamin Pollock (aka Ben Matthews) is a successful businessman trading over the internet with his diet product The Daisy Effect.“Living the dream” in the United Arab Emirates with his wife Rebecah, Ben receives the startling news that he is about to become a father again. Their twins Luke and Lucy are quite a handful, so Ben thought his family was already complete. The prospect of welcoming another child is quite daunting, leaving Ben to reflect on his life.An invitation to stay at one of Dubai’s exclusive hotels is received thanks to Don Luis Fernandez Rodrigues, a Colombian cartel drug baron turned legitimate film backer for the film, “Zombie Apocalypse: The Final Resolution,” which Ben’s family have parts in. They find themselves guests for the weekend and are determined to take full advantage of the unexpected getaway.It is here that Ben begins to discover the seedier side of the UAE, the amazingly beautiful place that has allowed his imagination to run riot.The trouble with Ben’s past is it has a habit of catching up with him.Author Bio:British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist. This is her tenth book. 

When a baby left by her nanny outside the local village co-op store is snatched from its pram, the only potential witness is Mary Mundy, an ex-mental patient discharged from the old asylum.Mary has spent her entire life institutionalised after being admitted for a pregnancy when she was a young girl and is now living in the community in warden-aided accommodation.Is it a chance abduction?The baby is Phoebe Devonshire, the long-awaited only child of Bernard Devonshire, a wealthy building developer, suspected by many of shady practices. He seems more concerned that Chief Inspector Mike Harvey's investigation into his daughter's disappearance is more of an intrusion into his own life than a necessity to find his child.That Bernard has a violent temper is witnessed by his attack on his wife, one intercepted by Detective Sergeant Brendon Flannery, who has zero tolerance for violence against women.Bernard Devonshire may have unscrupulous business contacts, but he also has friends in high places, and is determined to cause as much trouble for Flannery as he possibly can; although reporting his wife and nanny missing soon backfires, turning the whole investigation into a murder hunt, with some surprising results.Author Bio:British crime author Pat McDonald has lived her entire life in Nottinghamshire, England. She previously worked in law enforcement and mental health services. This is her ninth book.

A bad penny always turns up, so the saying goes.A Bad Penny is the third book in a series by Pat McDonald. In her first book, A Penny for Them, Benjamin Matthews (né Pollock), discovers after several startling revelations that he isn't who he thought he was, which stops him from leaving with his wife and children for the United Arab Emirates.Determined to join them, Ben manages to escape the clutches of Sergeant Daphne Johnson, when in book two, The Penny Drops, he sneaks out of the UK to "live the dream" in the desert country's opulent culture.Feeling sheer relief upon arrival, and lured by his new exotic surroundings and the mysteries of the desert, Ben sees no point in telling his wife who he really is. Believing him to be an orphan, she remains blissfully ignorant of both his families, until his two mothers show up together, complete with suitcases.This sparks the beginning of another inevitable run of bad luck for Ben. Just when things seem to be going okay, something always turns up to spoil it! In A Bad Penny, Ben's easy escape to United Arab Emirates is short lived, when, like a bad penny, everyone turns up!British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS, and in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist.

Benjamin Matthews, n├⌐ Benjamin Pollock, is a successful businessman marketing the slimming formula "The Daisy Effect." He is preparing for a new life with his wife Rebecah and their twins, Luke and Lucy, moving from England to the United Arab Emirates, where Rebecah just got a job as a nurse.Ben''s unfortunate white lie (that his name is Pollock) leads him to discover just as he is about to fly out of the country, that his origins are not all that they seem. The confusion over his real last name gets him stopped at the airport, whilst he watches his wife and children fly away without him.Will Ben be able to get a new passport and prove his identity so he can fly out to join them? Or will other incidents prevent him from leaving? More to the point, can he escape Daphne, the undercover cop who is chasing him?Ben''s continuing story is fraught with calamities and frustrations ... until The Penny Drops! This second book in the Penny series offers a rollicking tale of confusion and nonstop action. It is the sequel to A Penny for Them.British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS, as well as in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist. This is her sixth book.Publisher''s website:  http://sbpra.com/PatMcDonald

Benjamin Matthews is the hapless hero with the innocent face of an angel and only two GCSEs in chemistry and history. At the vast age of thirty, he has not yet found his niche in life, but has drifted along performing a series of jobs that always go wrong.Then he meets Rebecah, a nymphomaniac and the beautiful daughter of a failed politician who is one of the most successful villains in his hometown.If lying should ever become an art form, Ben would succeed, because people believe in his honest face. From his very first white lie (about his name being Benjamin Pollock), he digs himself in deeper and deeper, realising that it is important to be considered a Pollock.Even he has to admit that he is rather good at this lying malarkey. Ben finds he has a talent for being a criminal, going from strength to strength, and taking Daisy Productions to new heights. But will his latest business venture follow the usual pattern and fail? Will his fabrications be the end of him?A Penny for Them takes a humorous look at crime from the viewpoint of the criminal and is spot on.British crime author Pat McDonald lives in a rural part of the Midlands, United Kingdom. She previously worked as a researcher, project manager, and programme manager in the NHS as well as in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. She is now a full-time novelist.Publisher''s website: http://sbpra.com/PatMcDonald