Coffin Island

Million-copy bestselling author Kate Ellis returns with the gripping new book in the DI Wesley Peterson crime series.

'A beguiling author who interweaves past and present' THE TIMES

Despite many years living in South Devon, DI Wesley Peterson has never visited the tiny island of St Rumon's. That is until erosion from a storm reveals three bodies buried outside the local churchyard.

Two are ancient skeletons, but one is far more recent, and Wesley realises he has uncovered a case of murder. But whose remains are they? And who killed them?

The island has only a small number of inhabitants. Yet one resident keeps cropping up in Wesley's investigation: the author and self-styled academic, Quentin Search.

Meanwhile Wesley's friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, becomes fascinated by the remains of the island's old priory. His discovery of a journal, written by a sixteenth century cleric, reveals an eerie tale of strange rituals and disturbing deaths.

As Wesley begins to wonder whether the past might be repeating itself, another murder occurs . . . There is a calculated killer on the island - one whose grip is as deadly as the rising tide.

Whether you've read the whole series, or are discovering Kate Ellis's DI Wesley Peterson novels for the first time, this is the perfect page-turner if you love reading Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths.

Praise for Kate Ellis . . .

'Clever plotting hides a powerful story of loss, malice and deception' Ann Cleeves

'Haunting' Independent

'The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end' Closer

'Unputdownable' Bookseller

'A fine storyteller, weaving the past and present in a way that makes you want to read on' Peterborough Evening Telegraph

One of the most striking elements of Ellis's Wesley Peterson series is her ability to keep the pages turning and her readers on their toes. . . . Mysteries steeped in spine-tingling atmospherics and set in intriguing locations - often incorporating gems of real history Lancashire Evening Post
Praise for Kate Ellis:
Praise for Kate Ellis:
A beguiling author who interweaves past and present The Times
A beguiling author who interweaves past and present The Times
Haunting Independent
I loved this novel . . . Clever plotting hides a powerful story of loss, malice and deception -- Ann Cleeves
The chilling plot will keep you spooked and thrilled to the end Closer
A traditional detective story with an intriguing historical twist . . . Ellis is a fine storyteller, weaving the past and present in a way that makes you want to read on Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Star author. Unputdownable Bookseller
I absolutely loved this book . . . A perfectly paced crime novel that beautifully evokes both time and place. Kate Ellis keeps you guessing all the way through to the final unexpected twist -- L. C. Tyler
A splendidly macabre thriller with a very dark heart and a hugely effective twist at the end -- Andrew Taylor
Fascinating, with a characteristically clever twist -- Martin Edwards
Imagine a plot as devious as anything Agatha Christie devised, locate it in a Derbyshire village in 1919 and with writing as close to the pulse as Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth and you will have some idea of the extraordinary power of Kate Ellis's new novel -- Peter Lovesey

Kate Ellis was born and brought up in Liverpool and studied drama in Manchester. She is the award-winning author of the DI Wesley Peterson detective novels, as well as the Albert Lincoln trilogy and the Joe Plantagenet mysteries.

Kate has won the CWA Dagger in the Library Award for her crime writing. She has also twice been shortlisted for the CWA Short Story Dagger and been longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

Visit her online at:

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