A trilogy of thrillers set in Liverpool, featuring the formidable Detective Inspector Crust

Veteran scriptwriter Vincent McInerney draws on his lifelong knowledge of Liverpool and his background in the Merchant Marine in these engaging thrillers, in which the gruff, indomitable John Crust and his sidekick Minty probe the circumstances surrounding a missing husband, a stolen sculpture and a hidden treasure.

O’Rourke’s First Case – Made redundant at 40, John O’Rourke gets a grant from the Enterprise Allowance Board and sets up as a private detective. Hired by Mrs Rate to trace her absent spouse, he’s soon caught up in a dangerous scheme involving modern art, drug money and shoot-outs on container ships. Fortunately, Inspector Crust is also investigating, and monitoring the rookie PI’s progress. Can the redoubtable copper ensure that O’Rourke’s first case isn’t also his last?

The Finger of Suspicion – With the university rag day parade in full swing, Inspector Crust is keeping his beady eye on the floats making their way through the city centre. So when a helicopter suddenly appears, and hoists the Epstein statue off Lewis’s department store, Crust assumes it’s an elaborate student prank. But when the police receive a ransom note, together with one of the statue’s fingers, he starts to have second thoughts.

The Bell – Following the death of shipowner Oliver Bright, his granddaughter Elizabeth prepares to sell his house and possessions at auction. Rumour has it that among his worldly goods is a rare artefact saved during the sinking of the Titanic – and psychotic criminal Tarrant will stop at nothing to lay his hands on it. But Inspector Crust is also on the trail of the missing relic, and is determined to find it first…