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DI Stewart Gardener is adding the final touches to his motorbike restoration project when a murder case drops a spanner in the works.

A man has stumbled upon his publisher’s dead body hanging from a rope in Leeds’s Kirkstall Abbey.

Running his business on a shoestring, Max Knowles had racked up debts, though none appeared serious enough to drive him to commit suicide.

DI Gardener’s Major Incident Team quickly establish the man was murdered. Yet finding the killer will prove harder.

As the mental health of a key witness unravels, an enigmatic hypnotist might hold the key to solving the case.

But unless DI Gardener can join up the dots, a cunning stone-faced murderer will slip through his grasp.

221 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2021

74 people are currently reading
73 people want to read

About the author

Ray Clark

38 books35 followers
The British Fantasy Society published Ray Clark's first work in 1995 - Manitou Man: The World of Graham Masterton, was nominated for both the World and British Fantasy Awards. In 2009, Ray's short story, Promises To Keep, made the final shortlist for the best short story award from The Tom Howard Foundation. Ray is based in Goole, and has set his Gardener and Reilly crime series in nearby Leeds.

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5 stars
271 (57%)
4 stars
127 (27%)
3 stars
56 (11%)
2 stars
8 (1%)
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7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Erik Empson.
505 reviews13 followers
November 13, 2021
Ray Clark does it again with a stunning title, the seventh in his DI Stewart Gardener series. This time he has publishers in his sights, as one is found topped off in an atmospheric abbey in Yorkshire. If you like immersing yourself in a crime fighting world, you'll love these dark and macabre books.
264 reviews3 followers
July 16, 2022
Hypnotists!!

I never did like Hypnotists! Another excellent book from our author Ray Clark. I do love reading books that are based in areas local to me or where I have previously lived as I can picture the places discussed in the book. I know on occasion some place names are made up, but like Kirkstall Abbey. A wonderful place, full of history and you can just picture the crime. I just love the research the that Ray has done. An absolutely brilliant book. A must read.
1,181 reviews6 followers
April 14, 2022
Another great story

Another great story by Ray Clark and one that I only put down until I had finished it. The story line was great and so different to a lot of other murder stories at present. Great characters and a good ending. Looking forward to reading more.
558 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2022
The great series continues.

A new twist to murder mysteries with this one involving a hypnotist. This has really baffled the team and interestingly not really concluded. Such is the power of hypnotism which has made this story work.
And so onto the next book.
371 reviews3 followers
October 12, 2022
A fast paced under mystery, and a few surprises

DI GARDNER, solving another murder, set in Leeds. Who is responsible, and why?_ Great references to Leeds and Yorkshire with this author. (God's own county seems to have a lot of murders)
147 reviews
September 22, 2022
This was really good and gripping throughout. Tiny hints started to show but I must be losing my touch as I had no idea of how it was going to play out in the end
137 reviews
April 24, 2023
Hypnosis

Interesting and original story line.Believable and well rounded characters that interact well together. A read that keeps the reader engaged and guessing.
Profile Image for Susan.
7,260 reviews69 followers
June 6, 2023
D.I. Stewart Gardener and his team are called to a murder scene. That of publisher Max Knowles at the ruins of Kirkstall Abbey. But what could be the motive and will this be the only killing.
An enjoyable modern mystery.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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