NEW: 'SKELETON SECRETS' by Dave Uttley

A human skeleton is unearthed in a small seaside town on the Fylde coast. As the investigation delves even deeper into the past, old passions and rivalries are rekindled.

The turmoil forces three childhood friends to re-visit their own memories with both fondness and anxiety.

Can Richard solve the crimes that have hung over the town for years?
Can Gloria find happiness at last?

And can Steve bury the demons that made him leave Northcliffe all those years ago?

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The book is available for loan from Cleveleys and Blackpool libraries

This book can also be ordered through any book shop.

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars

Interesting plot

I don’t normally read crime books but I really enjoyed this one. The plot is good and the characters are interesting. Consequently I read it in a couple of days as there was plenty going on to keep me gripped.

5.0 out of 5 stars

A thrilling read

If you like crime novels, this well written book is for you. The discovery of a skeleton in this century leads to murder but also the revisiting of crimes committed in the 1950's. It is sufficiently complex to make it difficult to put down.

Bredbury Books was formed by Sheila Adams and Dave Uttley in October 2009, to publish their fiction before the days of Amazon self-publishing. To date they have published 6 novels.

More from Bredbury Books

Love Blossoms in Runscliffe Bay by Maisie Green (2020)

Lizzie Wilkins has a successful life in the city - a high-flying career in PR, a promotion on the horizon, a sexy boyfriend and a cool city pad - until, that is, her life comes crashing down around her.

Sarah, Lizzie’s mum, helps run a small plant nursery with her brother Geoff in an idyllic village on the Yorkshire coast. Happily single since she split from Lizzie’s dad, Sarah’s content and settled in her life - or so she thinks. But after Geoff passes away and Lizzie flees home in disgrace, the two must battle to bring together the local community to save the nursery from collapse.

Along the way, both face questions about their own lives and loves. Will Sarah find a new taste for romance with local entrepreneur Tony or fellow potter Mike? And will Lizzie manage to clear her name and regain her city life, or will the pull of her childhood home - and her teenage crush - make her question just what she needs in order to flourish and grow?

A funny, warm-hearted tale of recovery and romance set in a garden nursery on the Yorkshire coast.

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars

A North East Cosy Cafe Book.
After a run of thrillers and history books, I wanted something lighter to see me through the early days of January. This caught my eye because it wasn't set in Cornwall or the South West Coast but in the North East Coast on a fictional village near Scarborough. The books got a bit of everything: a wrongful dismissal, a family death, an inheritance battle, budding romances and a cosy cafe origin story. I liked both the main characters and I enjoyed the alternate Mother/Daughter chapters.

5.0 out of 5 stars

A beautiful story
Two determined and bright women overcome sadness, disappointment, appalling behaviour and criminal activity and emerge to find happiness and fulfillment. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Heartwarming story

Heartwarming story of family, relationships and finding your happy place. Lizzie and her mother set out to make a success of a family business left to them. They overcome challenges and meet some interesting characters along the way. Love really does blossom and there's a happy ending.......just what we need at the moment. Very enjoyable read.

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Kindle edition

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Paperback edition

This book can also be ordered through any book shop.

Red Stiletto by Sheila Adams (2009)

Set in Hull, East Yorkshire, UK City of Culture 2017, 'Red Stiletto' is a light-hearted crime novel featuring calamity-prone private detective Rachel Hodges and her boyfriend, police inspector Steve Rose.

Rachel's cases often land her in hot water, but when one of her cases collides with Steve's investigation into a series of brutal murders, she is totally unprepared for what lies ahead...

Add in to the mix a paranoid woman out for revenge, a pretty steamy love triangle and Rach’s slightly off-the-wall family, and there’s never a dull moment.

If you enjoy Jennifer Crusie, Janet Evanovich or similar light-hearted crime writers, why not give 'Red Stiletto' a try?

Praise for ‘Red Stiletto’:

‘[H]eld a riveting pace and was well-constructed’ - Tindal Street Press

‘[H]umorous and engaging and I enjoyed reading it. I do like this style of writing very much and I think that you write well’ – Victoria Mellor, Senior Commissioning Editor – Crime and Thriller, Headline Publishing Group

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars

A book to curl up with

The book is full of humourous anecdotes and flows well so is easy to read. I enjoyed the parts where she is innocently flirting with Pete ...
If you like Janet Evanovich or Jennifer Crusie, you'll like Sheila Adams' first book. And it's British!

5.0 out of 5 stars

Is it a shoe or a weapon?

The central character, Rach, is a private detective, scatty at times but persistent and perceptive. Her professional life and her love life intertwine, leading to a dramatic climax.

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The book is available for loan from Hull, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Stockport libraries

This book can also be ordered through any book shop.

Black Velvet by Sheila Adams (2013)

‘Black Velvet’ features the return of Rachel Hodges, calamity-prone private eye, and her police inspector boyfriend, Steve Rose, both last seen in ‘Red Stiletto’, in another light-hearted, sexy crime novel set in Hull, UK City of Culture 2017.

Rachel’s investigations are never as straight-forward as they seem, and sometimes cross paths with those of the police, but in ‘Black Velvet’, she is catapulted into a dangerous journey which takes her totally out of her comfort zone…

A local crooked businessman who deals in stolen cars. A body fished out of Hull Marina, with a fortune in diamonds in his hotel room. A series of burglaries of expensive paintings throughout the area. Missing cats. A computer expert who has a penchant for flirting with Rachel, as well as helping her out.

Find out what connects these seemingly random people and events, and how Rach blunders her way endearingly to the answer.

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars

A great read

This is a book that you will not be able to put down until you have finished it. It is a fast moving detective story with lots of twists and turns and the action in the last few chapters, which takes place in Holland, is gripping. It would make a great movie.

5.0 out of 5 stars

A detective with a heart.

The second novel about Rach, a private detective based in Hull and her boyfriend, Steve, who is a policeman. Rach gets into some tight corners (literally) in her dogged pursuit of the truth but never loses her sense of humour. Different plot lines are cleverly interwoven and keep the reader guessing till the end.

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The book is available for loan from Hull, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Stockport libraries

This book can also be ordered through any book shop.

Green Silk by Sheila Adams (2018)

'I was eighteen when my world fell apart. Then I discovered it had never even been my world.'

When her parents are killed in a car crash, Kate is distraught. Then she discovers there is no record of her birth. Rach sets out to investigate who Kate really is and unearths more than one hidden truth along the way.

Meanwhile, Steve has a murder to solve at a writers' retreat. When their investigations overlap, Rach inevitably finds herself in the thick of things again...

A light-hearted, sexy crime novel set in Hull, 'Green Silk' features Rachel Hodges, a calamity-prone private detective and her fiancé Steve Rose, a police inspector, who both appeared in 'Red Stiletto' and 'Black Velvet'.

Reviews:

4.0 out of 5 stars

Fun easy read

Each book in the series is better than the one before. They are easy reading and very funny in places with a good storyline which pulls you in. I picked this one up and only intended on reading a couple of chapters before doing other things, next thing I knew I was more than two thirds through it and found it hard to stop. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Entertaining, intriguing plot

This series just gets better and better. Green Silk continues to follow the accident prone private detective. The plot is intriguing and well written. I couldn’t put it down.

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The book is available for loan from Hull, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Stockport libraries

This book can also be ordered through any book shop.

Deadly Deception by Sheila Adams (2015)

An incredible secret, a desperate killer, amazing discoveries, a coming-of-age, all play out against the harsh environment of Mars.

Christa, almost 15, born and raised on Mars following Earth’s destruction by an asteroid strike, finds the diary of her mother, who supposedly died in an accident 10 years previously. Its startling contents turn her world upside-down.

But as she and her friends investigate, someone is watching.

Someone who will stop at nothing to hide the truth.

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars

A thrilling novel

A terrific introduction to sci-fi. This is a great 'who done it' set on Mars with all the technical difficulties that entails. Ideal for the teenage market, it makes you think about survival in that hostile environment. It is a beautiful read.

5.0 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable read
A gripping space themed novel with a whodunnit twist. The topic is one which could easily become a reality in the perhaps not too distant future, and the writer has done well with her research into the theme, therefore enabling the reader to imagine what life on Mars could be like. Aimed at the teenage market, however I found myself engrossed in the characters and their plight. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

Click to order Kindle edition

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The book is available for loan from Stockport libraries

About the authors

Bredbury Books was formed by Sheila Adams and Dave Uttley in October 2009, primarily to publish their crime fiction.

Sheila Adams was born in Hull, the setting for many of her novels. She grew up near East Park and went to Southcoates Primary School and Malet Lambert Grammar School before studying German at Leeds University. Several years later she married, moved to Stockport and brought up two children. Sheila worked in various administrative jobs before taking early retirement from the civil service to concentrate on her writing. She now lives with her husband, Dave, in Sheffield.

Sheila is an avid Manchester City fan, belongs to a thriving book group and collects mid-century pottery, 20th century glass and vintage powder compacts.

Dave Uttley was born in Cleveleys, also the setting for his first novel. His grandparents ran a boarding house which is a main setting for the novel. Dave went to Beach Road Primary School and Baines Grammar School before moving to Manchester to work for Shell as a Chemical Plant Operator. He moved into IT in the late 70s and stayed in that line of work until he took early retirement in 2003. He then became a painter and decorator and whilst hanging paper, he got his first ideas for his novel. Dave has two children and three grandchildren. He and Sheila met up at a Creative Writer's night class at the local college in 2002. They married in 2013 and now live in Sheffield.

Dave became a Manchester City fan when he moved to Manchester in 1969. He followed them through all those fallow years and can now enjoy their current success. He also loves building model railway layouts,

Contact us

You can contact us by email on: postmaster@bredburybooks.co.uk