Ramsay 04 - Killjoy

From the author of Shetland and Vera

Gus Lynch is directing the Youth Theatre through a rehearsal. The cast is in place but the female lead, Gabriella Paston, is missing. Later that evening her body is discovered in the boot of Gus’s car. Detective Inspector Stephen Ramsay and Sergeant Gordon Hunter are assigned to head the murder enquiry.

Meanwhile violence is escalating on the Starling Farm Estate as police battle to contain the latest outbreak of joyriding. Is the death of Gabriella connected to the events at Starling Farm? When another death occurs, investigations suggest a possible link. Ramsay realises what could have provoked someone to kill . . . and kill again.

Why is everyone afraid of Gabriella Paston? Is it because she's too beautiful, too talented, too self-confident? In the middle of rehearsals for her first big show at the arts center, eighteen-year-old Gabriella is murdered . . . and it seems to Inspector Stephen Ramsay that people are more afraid of her than ever. For Gabriella turns out to have been not only gifted and gorgeous but ruthless, and not everyone mourns her loss. In a community where teen crime is becoming a dangerous problem, the murder is just one more headache for the police. But the stage is already being set for another killing . . . .

Ann Cleeves is the author behind ITV's VERA and BBC One's SHETLAND. She has written over twenty-five novels, and is the creator of detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez -- characters loved both on screen and in print. Her books have now sold over 1 million copies worldwide. Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of 'Murder Squad', working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for Best Crime Novel, for Raven Black, the first book in her Shetland series. In 2012 she was inducted into the CWA Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame. Ann lives in North Tyneside. www.anncleeves.com