Blackmail

By Hannah Howe

About the Series

The Ann's War Mystery Series is a series of five novellas set in 1944-5. Each story contains approximately 15,000 words and a complete mystery. The stories are: BETRAYAL, INVASION, BLACKMAIL, ESCAPE and VICTORY. Kindly note that each mystery is resolved within one story, and that Ann's story arc will be resolved over the five books.

About BLACKMAIL

With her husband, Emrys, still missing in action Ann Morgan faces the prospect of spending her first wedding anniversary, and Christmas, alone. However, a phone call from Alistair Blythe, a young man she briefly walked out with before her marriage to Emrys, sets Ann on a trail that leads to murder, encounters with black market spivs and threats to her life.

With assistance from spymaster Charles Montagu and Detective Inspector Max Deveraux, Ann uncovers a major secret of the war. And, with the snow falling at Christmas, she receives a present she will never forget.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goylake Publishing
• Release date: Jun 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781999601744

Hannah Howe

Hannah Howe is the bestselling author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series (Sam's Song, book one in the series, has reached number one on the amazon.com private detective chart on seven separate occasions and the number one position in Australia). Hannah lives in the picturesque county of Glamorgan with her partner and their two children. She has a university degree and a background in psychology, which she uses as a basis for her novels.Hannah began her writing career at school when her teacher asked her to write the school play. She has been writing ever since. When not writing or researching Hannah enjoys reading, genealogy, music, chess and classic black and white movies. She has a deep knowledge of nineteenth and twentieth century popular culture and is a keen student of the private detective novel and its history.Hannah's books are available in print, as audio books and eBooks from all major retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, iBooks, etc. For more details please visit https://hannah-howe.comThe Sam Smith Mystery Series in book order:Sam's SongLove and BulletsThe Big ChillRipperThe Hermit of HisaryaSecrets and LiesFamily HonourSins of the FatherSmoke and MirrorsStardustMind GamesDigging in the DirtA Parcel of RoguesBostonThe Devil and Ms DevlinSnow in AugustLooking for Rosanna MeeStormy WeatherDamagedEve’s War: Heroines of SOEOperation ZigzagOperation LocksmithOperation BroadswordOperation TreasureOperation SherlockOperation CameoOperation RoseOperation WatchmakerOperation OverlordOperation Jedburgh (to follow)Operation Butterfly (to follow)Operation Liberty (to follow)The Golden Age of HollywoodTula: A 1920s Novel (to follow)The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War SagaRootsBranchesLeavesFruitFlowersThe Ann's War Mystery Series in book order:BetrayalInvasionBlackmailEscapeVictoryStandalone NovelsSaving Grace: A Victorian MysteryColette: A Schoolteacher’s War (to follow)What readers have been saying about the Sam Smith Mystery Series and Hannah Howe..."Hannah Howe is a very talented writer.""A gem of a read.""Sam Smith is the most interesting female sleuth in detective fiction. She leaves all the others standing.""Hannah Howe's writing style reminds you of the Grandmasters of private detective fiction - Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Robert B. Parker.""Sam is an endearing character. Her assessments of some of the people she encounters will make you laugh at her wicked mind. At other times, you'll cry at the pain she's suffered.""Sam is the kind of non-assuming heroine that I couldn't help but love.""Sam's Song was a wonderful find and a thoroughly engaging read. The first book in the Sam Smith mystery series, this book starts off as a winner!""Sam is an interesting and very believable character.""Gripping and believable at the same time, very well written.""Sam is a great heroine who challenges stereotypes.""Hannah Howe is a fabulous writer.""I can't wait to read the next in the series!""The Big Chill is light reading, but packs powerful messages.""This series just gets better and better.""What makes this book stand well above the rest of detective thrillers is the attention to the little details that makes everything so real.""Sam is a rounded and very real character.""Howe is an author to watch, able to change the tone from light hearted to more thoughtful, making this an easy and yet very rewarding read. Cracking!""Fabulous book by a fabulous author-I highly recommended this series!""Howe writes her characters with depth and makes them very engaging.""I loved the easy conversational style the author used throughout. Some of the colourful ways that the main character expressed herself actually made me laugh!""I loved Hannah Howe's writing style -- poignant one moment, terrifying the next, funny the next moment. I would be on the edge of my seat praying Sam wouldn't get hurt, and then she'd say a one-liner or think something funny, and I'd chuckle and catch my breath. Love it!""Sam's Song is no lightweight suspense book. Howe deals with drugs, spousal abuse, child abuse, and more. While the topics she writes about are heavy, Howe does a fantastic job of giving the reader the brutal truth while showing us there is still good in life and hope for better days to come."

Book preview

ANN’S WAR

BLACKMAIL

ANN’S WAR

BLACKMAIL

Hannah Howe

Goylake Publishing

Copyright © 2018 Hannah Howe

All rights reserved.

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Goylake Publishing, Iscoed, 16A Meadow Street, North Cornelly, Bridgend, Glamorgan. CF33 4LL

Print ISBN: 978-1-9999619-1-6

EBook ISBN 978-1-9996017-4-4

Printed and bound in Britain by Imprint Digital, Exeter, EX5 5HY

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

Ann’s War by Hannah Howe,

available in print, as eBooks and audio books

Betrayal

Invasion

Blackmail

Escape

Victory

The Sam Smith Mystery Series by Hannah Howe, available in print, as eBooks and audio books

Sam’s Song

Love and Bullets

The Big Chill

Ripper

The Hermit of Hisarya

Secrets and Lies

Family Honour

Sins of the Father

Smoke and Mirrors

Stardust

Mind Games

Digging in the Dirt

A Parcel of Rogues

Boston

Standalone Novel

Saving Grace

To my family, with love

Chapter One

Ann Morgan placed the stem of her paintbrush to her lips and admired her handiwork. True, the second ‘n’ in the legend ‘Ann Morgan – Private Investigator’ was a tad wonky. Nevertheless, overall she was pleased with the result.

Ann reflected that a wave of sadness had washed over her when she had removed Trevor Bowman’s name from the office door. She would keep the words ‘Discreet Enquiries’ on the door as a reminder of her erstwhile employer, and as an aide memoire to uphold his high standards.

After wiping her hands on a rag, Ann entered her office. There, she gazed through the window to a sky laden with snow. The snow would arrive for Christmas and add to the festivities. Furthermore, today was her first wedding anniversary, an anniversary she would celebrate alone because her husband, Emrys, was still missing in action. Nine months ago, the Germans had shot down his aeroplane somewhere over France. Emrys had been engaged in a secret mission, gathering intelligence for the Allied invasion of Normandy. That invasion had been a success and now the Allies were marching on, through France into Germany.

Ann would spend her wedding anniversary alone. However, she was not alone in that respect. Many women shared her situation, with their husbands either missing or dead. The Women’s Institute had invited her to their Christmas party and she was in two minds whether to attend.

The women at the Institute had pooled their ration books to ensure that their Christmas dinner would be a true feast. Murkey was on the menu, a mock turkey made up of sausage meat covered in bacon rashers with parsnips for legs. The Murkey looked like the real thing and if you had a taste for stuffing, it offered a rare treat.

Due to the war, Ann’s clients were scarce. Therefore, she spent her time decorating her office with seasonal flowers and touches of fresh paint. A sprig of holly sat on top of the filing cabinet. However, she had drawn the line at mistletoe in case prospective male clients mistook that as a signal and leapt to the wrong conclusion.

Ann sat at her desk. She sighed and reflected on recent events. At least the war was drawing to a close. The government had formally stood down the Home Guard and within the past month the British Eighth Army had crossed the Lamone in Italy, the US Third Army had captured a V-rocket factory in Wittering, Eastern France, and the Americans had triumphed at Metz. What would life be like after the war? Was it too soon to