The Perfect Murder: Spine-chilling short stories for long summer nights

Copyright

Published by Avon, an imprint of

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins 2013

Copyright © Jacqui Rose 2013

Copyright © Luca Veste 2013

Copyright © Paul Finch 2013

Copyright © Mark Sennen 2013

Copyright © Laurence O’Bryan 2013

Copyright © Michael Russell 2013

Cover design: Paul Agar

Jacqui Rose, Luca Veste, Paul Finch, Mark Sennen, Laurence O’Bryan and Michael Russell assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Ebook Edition © June 2013 ISBN: 9780007532308

Version: 2018-02-08

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Contents

Title Page

About The Perfect Murder

A note from Jacqui Rose

Before Noon, a short story by Jacqui Rose

An exclusive extract from Jacqui’s new novel, Dishonour

A note from Luca Veste

Time’s Up, a short story by Luca Veste

An exclusive extract from Luca’s debut novel, Dead Gone

A note from Paul Finch

Him! A short story by Paul Finch

An exclusive extract from Paul’s new novel, Sacrifice

A note from Mark Sennen

Wunderland, a short story by Mark Sennen

An exclusive extract from Mark’s new novel, Bad Blood

The Puzzle Behind The Istanbul Puzzle, a feature by Laurence O’Bryan

An exclusive extract from Laurence’s new novel, The Manhattan Puzzle

A note from Michael Russell

An Act of Contrition, a short story by Michael Russell

An exclusive extract from Mark’s new novel, The City Of Strangers

Copyright

About the Publisher

The Perfect Murder

Featuring short stories from e-book bestsellers Paul Finch, Jacqui Rose and Mark Sennen and highly anticipated stories from Luca Veste and Michael Russell, this FREE short story collection will have you up all night. Each short story is followed up by exclusive extracts of each of the authors’ upcoming titles.

Before Noon: A nail-biting story that focuses on the events prior to a safe deposit robbery.

Time’s Up: Set in Liverpool a grisly tale of being lost and seeking redemption.

Him!: The darkest things happen at night … A thriller sure to keep you on the edge of your seat from the #1 bestseller Paul Finch.

Wunderland: A chilling story based at a writer’s retreat in the middle of nowhere.

The Puzzle Behind The Istanbul Puzzle: A feature that looks at Laurence’s fascination with conspiracy theories.

An Act Of Contrition: When Donal Kerrigan is found dead and the man who shot him has admitted the murder, it seems likes a closed case. Yet, all is not as it first appears as Inspector David Gillespie soon discovers.

Jacqui Rose: ‘Gritty and gripping – by a star in the making.’ Kimberley Chambers

Luca Veste: ‘Dark, dangerous and complex, Dead Gone is that rare thing – an intelligent serial killer novel that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking. Nick Quantrill

Paul Finch: ‘Avon’s big star … part edge-of-the-seat, part hide-behind-the-sofa!’ The Bookseller

Mark Sennen: ‘A fast-paced serial-killer chiller.’ Alex Marwood

Laurence O’Bryan: ‘A brisk plot … which draws the reader into a conspiratorial rapport … He’s come late to fiction, clearly he means to enjoy it.’ The Telegraph

Michael Russell: ‘Russell weaves a beautifully rich tapestry that shows through the taste and texture of his words.’ www.crimesquad.com

To find out more, follow Avon on Twitter@AvonBooksUK and on Facebook@Avon-BooksUK for news, giveaways and exclusive author extras.

A note from Jacqui Rose

Just to tell you about my short story, it’s called, Before Noon. The idea for the title came to me because I’m fascinated with time and the unexpected. The sliding doors of life. How our lives can change in a matter of minutes or hours or even seconds. How only twenty-four hours earlier our lives may have rested on the axle of peace and then we fast-forward a day and things beyond our control have crashed into our lives. Sometimes it truly is a question of expect the unexpected.

Before Noon starts off just before a safe deposit robbery takes place. Simple and straightforward. In and out for Dave Cole, Jay and Mike, but then events take a twist. A turn of the unexpected. A moment in time no one could’ve planned for. I won’t give you any spoilers; I just hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

As always, I’d love to hear from you, so please check out my website www.jacquirose.com and say hi if you’ve got time. Or you can find me on Twitter @JacPereirauk.

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