A FURIOUS neighbour bursts into the Warwickshire home of peer’s son Miles Kenworth in a row over noise. He is shocked to find Mr Kenworth dead with an axe embedded in his skull amid the sound of blaring music.

     Then, to his dismay, police arrive and the neighbour is promptly accused of the man’s murder.

These events form the opening chapters in Tony Bassett’s latest book, HEIR TO MURDER (available on Amazon as either an eBook or paperback).

This gripping novel is BOOK 5 in the Detectives Roy and Roscoe series, set in the West Midlands and was published in December 2023 by crime fiction specialists The Book Folks.

All five novels feature Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man, and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.

If you’re new to Tony’s writing, why not begin at the start of the series by taking a look at Book 1?

MURDER ON OXFORD LANE (Book1)

A quiet Warwickshire village is rocked by the disappearance of a property tycoon.

     Middle-aged DCI Gavin Roscoe and his relatively inexperienced sergeant, DS Sunita Roy, are confronted by suspicious deaths as they struggle to uncover what has happened to the businessman.

THE CROSSBOW STALKER (Book 2)

The two detectives show sympathy towards a man who has been subject to hate attacks. Then he is found dead outside his remote Worcestershire cottage with a crossbow bolt in his heart and a handkerchief embroidered with the letter C in his mouth. It’s the first in a run of gruesome murders which baffle police.

MURDER OF A DOCTOR (Book 3)

A man and two women walking their dogs in woods are shocked to discover the dead body of a family doctor who has only just moved back to the Midlands from Kent to care for his ailing mother.

     Heart of England Police are overwhelmed by the challenges of the case and the number of suspects.

     Every time they come close to a breakthrough the police are thwarted . . . until a valuable piece of jewellery leads DS Roy onto the trail of the killer.

OUT FOR REVENGE (Book 4)

Drug baron Tadeusz Filipowski plans to expand his Midlands drug empire on his release from prison. 

  Among his detractors is a corrupt detective who has previously helped him stay one step ahead of the law.

  When Filipowski is murdered, Heart of England Police face a demanding case. For so many had a grudge against the gangster. As police probe the world of the bent detective, it transpires someone has been plotting revenge. A revenge set to place the life of one of the Heart of England officers in peril.

* * *

The author decided to set this string of novels in Warwickshire and Worcestershire after spending many happy years working as a newspaper reporter in Worcester.

 Tony has also written the stand-alone London-based thriller SEAT 97 - wrong place, wrong time. This novel (also published by The Book Folks) concerns journalist Nick Colton, who arrives early for a concert by American soul singer Loretta Kay at the Royal Albert Hall. A man who takes the seat beside Nick is suddenly shot dead. From a brief conversation in the stalls, the journalist learned the victim had swapped seats with another ticket-holder.

As Nick embarks upon his dangerous quest to find the killer, he asks himself: Was the dead man the intended victim or was the other concertgoer the assassin’s real target?

In addition, Tony is the author of two books published by The Conrad Press: SMILE OF THE STOWAWAY, a crime novel set in Kent released in 2018; and THE LAZARUS CHARTER, a spy novel issued in 2020.

     Two further novels in the Midlands series have been written but are currently unpublished.

     Tony has five grown-up children. He is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists and lives in South-East London with his partner, Lin.