Her key to freedom is also her torment.Mina is an outcast. A childhood accident left her scarred and with a curse that her master exploits to hunt dragons for sport.She wants freedom, from both her master and the curse, but unless the right dragon is killed, she’ll be a bondservant for the rest of her days.With Mina’s uncanny ability and her master’s magical strength, the beast responsible for her misery will fall … even if she has to take matters i...

THE NEW JOHN "SLIM" HARDY MYSTERYWhen her mentally disabled son develops a strange obsession, Audrey Johnson contacts private investigator John “Slim” Hardy for help.Andy Johnson has been making teddy bears and leaving them on the memorial of a nine-year-old girl who drowned on Dartmoor more than forty years ago. When nothing will put him off his bizarre tribute to a child who died before he was even born, Slim moves to the peaceful rural community of Brent...

Having fallen on hard times, disgraced soldier turned private investigator John “Slim” Hardy is hired by rich and enigmatic land owner Oliver Ozgood to uncover the identity of a mysterious blackmailer.The man is demanding a fortune in exchange for his silence. He claims to be Dennis Sharp, a former employee of Ozgood, and threatens to reveal secrets that will soil Ozgood’s family name and send the patriarch to prison.There’s only one problem.Dennis Sharp is dead, ki...

Some bonds are forged in the heat of adversity.Mina has been granted an audience with the Enclave, and she’s determined to keep war from happening between dragons and humans.But some things are easier said than done.To gain the Enclave’s trust, she must prove herself a warrior worthy of being a dragon rider.And if she fails ... then the world will burn.

Friends will become enemies.Mina has been tasked with stopping Lord D’Lance, but that’s easier said than done. With dark magic and an army at his command, he’s practically untouchable.To add to her problems, she realizes Caden is bonded to a dragon as well, one that seeks the destruction of everything in her path.If Mina can’t find a way to stop them both, all will be lost to flame and ash.Wrath of the Dragon is the fourth episode in the...

Some curses are the instruments of destiny.After saving Lord Klodian’s life, Mina is elevated above servanthood—but life isn’t as simple as she expected. Her last encounter with a dragon has her questioning everything she’s ever known, and now she’s determined to find the truth.Mina’s quest takes her into The Long Sands, where she comes face to face with her greatest enemy … and an unlikely ally.Egg of the Dragon is the second episode in the ser...

Slow Train: A thrilling British mystery that will leave you guessing until the last page...On the evening of Saturday, January 15th, 1977, a local commuter train is delayed at a small village station by a freak blizzard. Young nurse Jennifer Evans, keen to get back to her family, plans to walk the last couple of miles to her home in a neighbouring village. She phones her daughter to confirm that she’s on her way, but she never arrives home.In the ensuing police inv...

A buried clock holds the key to a decades-old mystery.On holiday to escape the nightmares of his last case, disgraced soldier turned private detective John “Slim” Hardy comes upon something buried in the peat on Bodmin Moor.Unfinished and water-damaged but still ticking, the old clock provides a vital clue to an unsolved missing-persons case.As Slim begins to ask questions of the tiny Cornish village of Penleven, he is drawn into a world of lies, rumours, and secret...

Attempting to forget his problems with the bottle, former soldier turned private detective John “Slim” Hardy joins what ought to be a peaceful fishing package holiday in Dartmouth, South Devon. But when a violent tragedy affects one of the other tour guests, Slim finds himself on the trail of a potential killer.Set in the beautiful surrounds of the River Dart estuary and Agatha Christie’s Greenway, The Angler’s Tale will take Slim Hardy into places darker than any he has faced befo...

The second collection of Jack Benton’s thrilling Slim Hardy Mysteries, including books 4-6 in the series: Slow Train, The Angler’s Tale and Eight Days.Slow TrainOn the evening of Saturday, January 15th, 1977, a local commuter train is delayed at a small village station by a freak blizzard. Young nurse Jennifer Evans, keen to get back to her family, plans to walk the last couple of miles to her home in a neighbouring village. She phones her ...

"An absolute feast for noir and paranormal thriller fans alike. Highly recommended." ~~ bestthrillers.comJohn "Slim" Hardy, heavy drinker and disgraced soldier turned bumbling private detective, is hired to investigate Ted Douglas, an investment banker who slips out of work every Friday to visit a desolate cove on the Lancashire coast. There, he walks to the shore, opens an old book, and begins to read aloud.His wife thinks he's having an affair.Sli...

THE NEW SLIM HARDY MYSTERYOne autumn night in 1992, young trapeze artist Maria’s circus career is cut short by a shocking fall. Later investigation reveals sabotage, but by then the ramshackle Southern Cross Circus has folded, and its garrulous ring master and owner fled to Spain.And the prime suspect in the possible crime, Maria’s boyfriend, has disappeared without trace, never to be seen again.After a chance encounter with Maria decades afterwards...