Ragdolls Don't Lie (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781836151838)

A young mother watches helplessly as her baby daughter is taken into care, her own abusive childhood leaving her ill-prepared to look after her child. But is everything as it seems?

A teenage boy is lured on to Wimbledon Common at night and horrifically stabbed to death in what appears to be the first in a series of gang murders - but is something more sinister behind this?

In a tense, fast-paced drama Charlie Stafford and her team are faced with the escalation of retaliatory killings between two opposing gangs; an Italian gang called 'The Dons', and a black gang, calling themselves 'The Soldiers'. The leader of the Dons is a young man nicknamed '3D'. He and his second in command, 'the General', Franco Nannini, are seeking a larger slice of the drug supply network in leafy Wimbledon, an outer suburb of South London.

After a member from each gang is found stabbed to death, the violence escalates and other teenagers' lives are put in danger - but could there be more than the obvious?

In a separate plot line, Charlie eventually identifies the mother who has lost her child. The woman is seeking revenge on the person she believes has betrayed her to the authorities. The race is on to track down the woman and her partner, before they commit the ultimate crime. The damning, and irrefutable truth of the situation lies within a mutilated rag doll.

In 'Ragdolls Don't Lie', Charlie has moved to Wimbledon police station, having been promoted to sergeant and in Hunter's absence, steps up to take control. She is as determined as ever to achieve justice for each of the victims, but has to battle bureaucracy and possible corruption in pursuing these ends. Her own private life is brought into sharp focus with the release of her father from a Scottish prison and the campaign of violence and hostility he directs at both her and her mother.

In the end, Charlie has to confront her greatest fear, and is left questioning her life priorities as she tries to protect her mother, whilst still doing her duty at work. In a world where, too often, her colleagues become victims, is Charlie adequately prepared? She will, inevitably, have to draw on the expertise and help of others, but will this also bring Charlie to a crossroads decision about her own happiness.