The Inspector Stark novels Series

Shortlisted for the best debut crime novel by The Crime Writers Association.   It is the summer of 1987. It is three years away from the world-wide-web being inaugurated. It is ten years before the first accessible mobile phone and a whole twenty-one years before they launch the first iPhone. 'It's A Sin' by The Pet Shop Boys is number one in the UK charts, available on cassette and vinyl. The sun is rising on political correctness ye news of this has yet to reach Nottingham CID. AIDS is rife. Hugging is for Hippies, and the author of this book has recently been appointed a Detective in the CID. Of course, some things are the same as today; people still get bludgeoned to death in their own homes. Same as it ever was. You just can't tweet about it yet. Detective Inspector David Stark and his team of detectives investigate the brutal murder of the Marriott family in their own homes. The murderer? It could be Charles Lyon, wealthy, but pathetic sugar daddy, Winston Kelly, notorious Rastafarian drug-dealer with psychotic tendencies, or Stan Tindle, the burglar who is seen in the location at the time of the offence, or...? Stark struggling to keep a lid in his secret anxiety, and his team strives to discover the truth, which lies just outside of their grasp until they obtain a clue from an unlikely source, but sadly by then, it is sadly too late.   'A most promising debut' –  The Times 'A very well crafted plot' –  Sunday Express 'The writing is very reminiscent of Raymond Chandler. Wright pulls no punches.' The Book Dragon

September 1987 The internet is yet to be born and the cell phone is over twenty years from its inception. A packet of cigarettes costs £1.60 and a loaf of bread is 40p.  Margaret Thatcher has just won a record third term as Prime Minister and 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley is number 1 in the Charts. Some things don't change; however, greed, love, jealousy, and a knife sliding through a carotid artery tend to have the same impact on people's lives as they ever did. In the second of The Inspector Stark series, DI Stark and his team battle to solve a murder which appears to be without motive. DI Stark also battles with his anxiety; DC Charlie Carter battles his hemorrhoids and DPW Steph Dawson battles with her Sergeants advances. An up-and-coming solicitor lies on a mortuary slab. He is a hard-working family man who appears to have everything. Who would want to kill him? The ruthless and savage killer, who knows precisely why; remains at large. Detective Inspector Stark and the team have scarcely begun their investigation when a second death occurs: another horrific and motiveless murder, or so it seems.  Are the two linked?  Are more going to die?  How can they be stopped? A group of suspects emerges, one is the killer, and one the next to die. Stark's investigation eventually lays bare a sinister sequence of events, a motive where the past returns to haunt the present – a roller coaster ride of hate, fuelled by revenge. Stark stages a most original eavesdrop on a solemn occasion, and the police net closes in on an unexpected killer. Trace and Eliminate 'combines the virtues of an insider's knowledge with the dramatic power of a true storyteller'.

By award-winning author and veteran CID detective Keith Wright.   Christmas can be Murder! It is 1987. A perverted criminal psychopath is on the loose. An innocent young woman is murdered in horrific circumstances. DI Stark announces; 'Christmas is canceled,' and his team investigates during the festive season; aware that every second the maniac remains free, it moves him closer to his next victim. A second woman is raped and brutalized. How is the killer discovering intimate secrets about his victims? Why does he insist on terrifying them in the lead up to the attacks? What is driving this depravity? Who will the next victim be? In his attempts to protect the public, DI Stark makes a colossal error of judgment, which will have appalling personal consequences. Keith Wright's professional knowledge of police investigations, coupled with a formidable talent for storytelling, combine to make his third novel a must for all crime fiction enthusiasts and thriller readers alike.

The man was 100 yards from his moment of destiny. He was oblivious to it, of course. Murderers don't necessarily realise they are killers until a few seconds before it happens. Murderers are sometimes just like you and me. He would never have dreamed that such a thing might happen. Ridiculous. If anyone had told him that today was the day he would turn into a killer, he would have looked at them quizzically; questioning their sanity, instead of his own. The murder investigation into the death of a young girl at Nottingham's Goose Fair throws up several suspects, close to home and further away. The stream of inquiries spirals into a climax, and suddenly another young life hangs in the balance. Detective Inspector Stark and his team prepare to do anything to stop further bloodshed. They are willing to use any means necessary, whether it be fair means or foul. In his fourth crime thriller, critically acclaimed author, Keith Wright, once again regales the stark reality of murder, derived from his hands-on experience as a CID detective sergeant working in an inner-city area.   'The latest of the increasingly impressive series – the denouement is solidly bedded in the realism of inner city life.' -The Scotsman 'A gripping tale of murder.' Alwyn Graham Bolton Evening News. 'Tightly written, with a cracking plot and grittier than a road-digger's wellies.' – Yorkshire Post

'I do not know what second it will be, what minute it will be, what hour, or even day. But it will come. You may see it coming. You may not. Regardless, I can guarantee you; there will be a moment like no other when you will draw your last breath. Like it or lump it. And at that moment you will see your final view of the world. However, what I do not know, is whether your last glimpse will be the sympathetic countenance of a loved one or the grotesque, contorted, teeth-clenched face of a crazed killer. Nor do you. That is yet to be determined. Other options are available.' Paul Masters, a family man, awakes to find his wife and daughter murdered. But how? It seems impossible. He is arrested for the crime. As he suffers a breakdown, Paul admits to the killing, but DI Stark and his team have serious doubts. When another horrific rape and murder takes place, these doubts seem well-founded, and the race is on to catch the maniac who will stop at nothing to feed his depravity. Who is his next victim going to be? How is he selecting them? Are all the detectives immune from his focus? In his fifth crime thriller, critically acclaimed author, Keith Wright, once again regales the stark reality of murder, derived from his hands-on experience as a CID detective sergeant working in an inner-city area. All Keith's books are set in Nottingham in the 1980s – a time before political correctness and mobile phones. It was a different world.

Death By Decree by Keith Wright Single mum Jane Cooper is forced into an altercation with a woman in a supermarket. It seems quite innocuous, but escalates, and despite Jane's best efforts to calm the situation, the aggressor is knocked to the floor. The problem is the woman happens to be one Sharon Brown, the wife of one of the most feared gangster duos in England; Dougie Brown and his maniacal brother Len 'the bitch' Brown. Sharon Brown is more seriously hurt than first thought, and the Brown brothers feel that their name and reputation has been weakened because of the humiliating episode. So, Jane Cooper must be found, and an example made of her. Everyone connected to her is now in grave danger. Those in Jane's circle begin to pay the price of her upsetting Sharon and Dougie Brown. Jane is the ultimate target, but she must suffer first. Detective Inspector David Stark and his team battle psychotic criminals and sinister forces within their ranks to protect Jane and bring the criminals to justice. It is not easy, and when Jane suddenly disappears, the clock is ticking. In his sixth gritty crime thriller, award-winning author Keith Wright again regales the stark reality of crime, derived from his hands-on experience as a CID detective sergeant working in an inner-city area.

The Creep Outside by Keith Wright Don't smile. Don't attract his attention. Don't agree to meet. It will be a date with death. He seems so nice, but don't be fooled. He's a stalker, an obsessive, and depraved. He is a serial killer. Nobody knew until now. But it's much too late. It's too late for too many women. So begins an investigation for Detective Inspector Stark that will reveal murder and end with a tragedy that shocks the CID to its core. 'The Creep Outside' is the seventh Inspector Stark crime thriller. All can be read independently.

In 1978 witnessing a tragic accident as a child leaves Benny Smith mentally scarred for many years. In 1987 he is suddenly and unexpectedly released from the mental health institution that had been his home for almost a decade. Haunted by the incident and lacking sufficient support, his condition takes him to dark places in the corners of his mind, igniting a curious fascination. There is something specific he craves which can only be satiated if he sees young people die – it is a validation of sorts. Nottingham CID are puzzled when two children accidentally die in unusual and identical circumstances and only a day apart. Something isn't right. Detective Inspector Stark is suffering from his own demons and when he takes charge of this case, he realises that he and the killer have something in common. Keith Wright, former CID Detective Sergeant, and now author, has won multiple writing awards for his internationally renowned Inspector Stark series of crime thrillers. He is married with four children and lives in Nottingham, England.