The Staunton and Wyndsor Series

The Hunters (A police detective Thriller) 'To follow… the brilliantly inspired tracking of Hill's two detectives is a joy, apart from the brainteasing pleasure of accepting the author's challenge to identify the murderer.' London Evening News 'Staunton walked out into the field. He stopped about twenty yards in, squatted down on his haunches and stared at the ditch where the girl's body had been found. Then he was motionless for a while, absorbing the details of the place, picturing it in darkness, the girl, her screams muffled by the murderer's hand, being dragged along the inside of the hedge, struggling madly in the last moments of her life. He picked up a clod of dry earth, 'I'm going to get you, you bastard,' he said.' It is 1975 and there are no sophisticated aids to help shrewd and earthy Chief-Superintendent Staunton of Scotland Yard's Murder Squad and his amorous young assistant, Detective Inspector Wyndsor when they arrive in a time-warped East Anglian village in the east of England to investigate the death of a local girl. While most of the villagers are silently doing their best to hinder the enquiry, including the unhelpful local squire and his glamorous but sinister daughter, Wyndsor makes a shocking discovery—a black magic chapel, which has as its altarpiece a huge phallus.  This is a place where old ways still hold sway, and where outsiders are viewed with the utmost suspicion. Here the murderer lives, embedded in this introverted society. On several occasions as the search proceeds the reader is aware that they are looking at the murderer—without the possibility of identification—and it becomes increasingly certain that he will kill again unless he can be hunted him down. The author of this impressive novel has introduced the reader to two memorable detectives. The Hunters is the first in the Staunton and Wyndsor series of classic police procedural murder mysteries. The others are The Liars, The Enthusiast and The Savages. Each novel is a stand-alone story, but with the same major protagonists. Peter Hill has also worked extensively in television for renowned British drama series such as 'Callan', 'The Sweeney', 'Z Cars', 'Public Eye', 'The Bill', 'Special Branch', 'Crown Court', 'New Scotland Yard', and 'Armchair Theatre'. He has been a writer, script editor and producer both in the UK and New Zealand, where he now lives.  'Brilliantly described police procedure… Unputdownable.' The Observer '…an acute professionalism. What is even better, it has the holding qualities of a rock-loving limpet…' Eric Hiscock in The Bookseller '…a masterly and entertaining beginning. Not a suspicion of cardboard in the characters, and a story with a hook-hold from which there is no escape ...' Victor Canning 'A really first-class who-dunnit' Essex Chronicle Also by Peter Hill The Commander Allan Dice books The Fanatics andThe Washermen Peter Hill has recently returned to novel writing, but in a different genre, and Killing Tomorrow, the first of a new series of near and far-future novels, Evolution's Path, is also available as an eBook. The second, The Ladies' Game, and the third, Procreation, have recently been published.

The Liars (a bizarre Murder Mystery) 'Lies, gossip, and jealousy fail to deter two of Scotland Yard's finest in this entertaining mystery with an extra twist or two...or three.' Pittsburgh Press When the battered body of fisherman Denis Kerkin is found hanging by one leg from an ancient stone gibbet, blunt cockney Detective Chief Superintendent Staunton and the talented and amorous Detective Inspector Wyndsor of New Scotland Yard's Murder Squad are sent to the isolated fishing village of Crukenporth in Cornwall to investigate. Here they encounter Miss Trevose, an autocratic cripple who never leaves the room specially adapted for her requirements. It is a self-constructed cage for this woman who is old, vindictive and dying. Yet her brain is still active, confined in a maimed body as she is confined within the room, and she controls with feudal arrogance the lives of most of the inhabitants of the village. Denied personal involvement she experiences vicariously the emotions of the people she manipulates, nurses her hatreds, and plays her own specialized game with life and death. For her, the investigating officers are just two more pawns to be played as she decides. As the officers delve into the bizarre circumstances of the death and Miss Trevose plots to use the police enquiry to exact personal vengeance, it becomes clear that more than one person had good reason to wish Denis Kerkin dead. It is the 1970s and Bob Staunton and Leo Wyndsor, without the more sophisticated aids to detection available today, strive to sort the truth from the lies before the passions, the hatreds and the greed they unearth explode into further violence, in this gripping novel of suspense and intrigue. The Liars is the second in the Staunton and Wyndsor series of classic police procedural murder mysteries set in various locations in Britain. The others are The Hunters, The Enthusiast and The Savages. These books were previously published worldwide, by major publishing houses, in hard and paperback, and are now available as eBooks. Each novel is a stand-alone story, but with the same major protagonists. Peter Hill has had a successful career working extensively in television for renowned British drama series. He has been a writer, script editor and producer both in the UK and New Zealand, where he now lives. Peter has now returned to novel writing but in a different genre, and Killing Tomorrow, the first of a new trilogy of near and far-future novels, 'Evolution's Path', is also available as an eBook. The second, The Ladies' Game, and the third, Procreation, have recently been published. Press comment on Peter Hill's books 'Exceptionally well told, with satisfying outcome.' Columbus Sunday Dispatch 'Peter Hill does a fine job with character, plot, atmosphere and suspense. An engaging, witty and entertaining yarn.' Publishers Weekly '… a pair of attractive investigators—the young and aristocratic Leo Wyndsor and the slow-moving but smart veteran Bob Staunton. The case takes them to Cornwall, where a man has been murdered and hung on an old gibbet....' New York Times 'I'd like to see Messrs. Staunton and Wyndsor in more books. They're a lot of fun—and they're good detectives.' Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia

The Enthusiast.  'Peter Hill does a fine job with character, plot, atmosphere and suspense.' Publishers Weekly John Williams thought he was alone on the bleak face of Moel Celyn in Snowdonia, Wales, until the first sighting bullet cracked into the rock close beside him, seconds later he was dead… And the police had scarcely begun their investigation when a second victim falls to a rifle shot as accurate and as apparently purposeless as before. Sent from Scotland Yard after the second killing Chief Superintendent Staunton and his younger associate, Detective Inspector Wyndsor, of the Murder Squad begin quickly to organize their search. Meanwhile, without being able to identify him, the reader has the eerie and frightening privilege of watching the gunman, as he prepares for his next kills. It soon becomes apparent that the psychopathic murderer is as enthusiastic and dedicated to his area of expertise as any elite sportsman and that he will kill again and again as he seeks to perfect his skills. There is a horrifying climax to events in this new Staunton and Wyndsor novel. The Enthusiast is the third in a series  of murder mysteries written in the 1970s when there were few of the modern aids to detection that are available now. Each one is a stand-alone story with the same major protagonists. Critical Response Peter's books: 'Lies, gossip, and jealousy fail to deter two of Scotland Yard's finest in this entertaining mystery with an extra twist or two ...or three.' Pittsburgh Press '… a pair of attractive investigators—the young and aristocratic Leo Wyndsor and the slow-moving but smart veteran Bob Staunton. .  New York Times 'I'd like to see Messrs. Staunton and Wyndsor in more books. They're a lot of fun—and they're good detectives.' Daily Press Newport News, Virginia 'Exceptionally well told, with satisfying outcome.' Columbus Sunday Dispatch 'A really good thriller writer...very clever at the way he measures out clues…' The Daily Telegraph 'Bizarre murder and a full, meaty, thoroughly absorbing account of the investigation... The Times 'To follow…the brilliantly inspired tracking of Hill's two detectives is a joy, apart from the brainteasing pleasure of accepting the author's challenge to identify the murderer.' London Evening News ''A really first-class who-dunnit' Essex Chronicle 'Zippy, intricate Chinese puzzle laid out with high laconic skill…very strong on sinister rituals, seamy metropolitan locations and gut-churning beastliness.' The Sunday Times 'Very clever, very nasty.' Marghanita Laski, The Listener Peter Hill has had a successful career in television working for renowned British drama series such as 'Callan', 'The Sweeney', 'Z Cars', 'Public Eye', 'The Bill', 'Special Branch', 'Crown Court', and 'New Scotland Yard', He has been a scriptwriter, editor and producer both in the UK and New Zealand, where he now lives. He has recently returned to novel writing,in a different genre, and 'Evolution's Path' is a trilogy of near and far-future novels, which depict a disturbingly realisti viiew of the future. They are, Killing Tomorrow, The Ladies' Game and Procreation.

The Savages (A Murder Thriller) 'This is a taut, handsome job, beautifully written, full of real characters and acute observations.' The New York Times When Colonel Bannister-Coates, an experienced Intelligence officer, fails to return to his Oxfordshire village home and his immaculate clothes are discovered dressing a scarecrow in a roadside field, there is a flurry of anxious activity in Whitehall. Detective Superintendent Staunton and his urbane Detective Inspector, Leo Wyndsor, are under pressure to discover if this is defection or assassination, or if there is some other, less obvious, answer. Despite local obstruction and sparse, enigmatic clues, and without the benefit of the more sophisticated aids to detection that are available now, a pattern gradually emerges, leading the detectives to a climax as intriguing and hazardous as any found in the earlier highly praised Staunton and Wyndsor novels. The Savages is the fourth in a series of classic police procedural murder mysteries set in the 1970s. These books were previously published worldwide, by major publishing houses, in hard and paperback editions and are now available as eBooks. The Hunters is the first in The Staunton and Wyndsor Series which introduced the two memorable detectives, followed by The Liars and The Enthusiast. They are set in various locations in Britain. Each novel is a stand-alone story, with the same two detectives as the major protagonists. Press comments on the other Staunton and Wyndsor books 'Lies, gossip, and jealousy fail to deter two of Scotland Yard's finest in this entertaining mystery with an extra twist or two... or three.' Pittsburgh Press 'Exceptionally well told, with satisfying outcome.' Columbus Sunday Dispatch 'Peter Hill does a fine job with character, plot, atmosphere and suspense.' Publishers Weekly '… a pair of attractive investigators—the young and aristocratic Leo Wyndsor and the slow-moving but smart veteran Bob Staunton…' New York Times 'To follow… the brilliantly inspired tracking of Hill's two detectives is a joy, apart from the brain teasing pleasure of accepting the author's challenge to identify the murderer.' London Evening News 'Bizarre murder and a full, meaty, thoroughly absorbing account of the investigation with sex spicily sandwiched in.' The Times  'A tremendous piece of fast-moving fiction. Not one word wasted, the story starts and ends with a bang.' Coventry Evening Telegraph Peter Hill has had a successful career working extensively in television for renowned British drama series such as 'Callan', 'The Sweeney', 'Z Cars', 'Public Eye', 'The Bill', 'Special Branch', and 'New Scotland Yard'. He has been a scriptwriter, editor and producer both in the UK and New Zealand, where he now lives. He has recently returned to novel writing, but in a different genre, and 'Evolution's Path' is a new trilogy of near and far-future novels, which depict a disturbingly realistic vision of the future. Killing Tomorrow, the first, The Ladies' Game, the second and the third, Procreation, are now all available as eBooks and in print editions.