DCI Phelps Boxset

by Wonny Lea

Genres: Mystery

Synopsis

‘Jack-Knifed’ is the first novel featuring DCI Martin Phelps and his team, based in the world-famous and vibrant Cardiff Bay.

Mark Wilson, a decent, well-liked gay man, lives alone in a beautiful house in Cardiff. One Saturday evening, his closest friends go to his house for an evening of drinks and catching-up.

Finding no answer, the concerned friends break in – to a horrific murder scene. For Mark Wilson has been brutally, sadistically murdered in his own home.

As DCI Phelps investigates, Mark’s traumatic early life is revealed. Was his killer someone from his past? Was his sexuality a motive? What about his violent, homophobic father – a man who has already killed more than once …

Meanwhile, Mark’s estranged sister Amy broods on the hatred she has for her brother, blaming him for turning their father into a killer. As she sinks further in to the depths of drug addiction, who’s to say what her next move will be?

As the body count rises, Phelps and his sergeant, Matt Pryor, soon realise they are on the trail of a serial killer …

 

The first novel in this series, Jack-Knifed, saw the introduction of Detective Chief Inspector Martin Phelps, together with his sidekick, Detective Sergeant Matt Pryor, and their team, investigating the horrendous murder of a gay man in Cardiff.

Now they are faced with a body found in Coopers Field, a Cardiff beauty spot – a naked body that has lain there so long it is almost unidentifiable. Pathology reports establish that the body is that of a woman – but who is she, and how did she die?

Local nurse Sarah Thomas, a helpful passer-by when the body is found, soon finds that she has another unexpected death to deal with – at Parkland Nursing Home where she works. Colin James, one of her favourite residents at the home, dies suddenly – but the reactions of those closest to him are surprising. Was Colin’s death due to natural causes – or is there something more sinister afoot at Parkland?

The Coopers Field Murder is the second in Wonny Lea’s DCI Martin Phelps series, set in the thriving Welsh capital city of Cardiff.

 

Killing by Colours, the third in the DCI Martin Phelps series, takes Martin in search of a serial killer who appears to have somewhat of a personal interest in the DCI himself.

When the body of the killer’s first victim is discovered at a popular Cardiff leisure attraction, key elements of the murder link her death to a macabre colour-themed poem recently sent to DCI Phelps. As the body count rises, the killer teases the team by giving possible clues to the whereabouts of victims and the venues of potential murders, in the form of more poems. Are the killings random acts by a deranged individual, or is there something that links the victims to one another – and even to the DCI himself?

Meanwhile, Martin’s sidekick, DS Matt Pryor, is worried about the safety of his boss. Are his fears warranted? Is Martin Phelps on the colour-coded list of potential victims – or is he just the sounding board for the killer’s bizarre poetry?

Publisher: Accent Press

Print pages: 458