Anthea Fraser
Symbols At Your Door

Five newcomers to the quiet and remote English village of Beckworth have their houses defaced with graffiti - a grotesquely leering gargoyle's head - and then three of the same houses are devastated by burglary or murder. One of the evil grinning faces appears on the door of Coppins Farmhouse, a lovely old building modernised almost beyond recognition by the Dexters, newly-arrived from London. Carol Dexter, isolated, unhappy, and unnerved by the graffiti, dismisses it as the work of the Beckworth Bruisers, a teenage gang which has scared her before. But Detective Chief Inspector Webb wonders why the graffiti seems strangely familiar. What he does know is that he must act quickly, before the malevolent force behind the ominous symbols can strike again - shattering more lives.

Gwendoline Butler
Coffin in Fashion

It's ten years since the Greenwich murders which launched the young John Coffin on his career as a policeman. Now a sergeant, he's bought a house in Mouncy Street, South-East London. Not only a house: with the house he's bought a body - more than one body in fact. During the investigation, although it's not actually his case - just his house - Coffin and the world of fashion collide. Belmodes clothing factory is owned by the fascinating but troubled Rose Hilaire, and Coffin finds himself attracted not only to Rose but also to her ambitious young assistant, Gabriel. Set at the beginning of the Swinging Sixties, in a world of drugs and confused sex, even Coffin doesn't emerge unscathed from his contact with this shady world.

Smithy's Loam, tastefully designed housing estate - perfect for upwardly-mobile business executives and their model families, and perfect for murder. Into this epitome of middle-class respectability moves Mrs Pargeter, fresh from her stay at the Devereux Hotel (recounted in A Nice Class of Corpse). With all the material trappings beloved of her new neighbours and an irreplaceable legacy from the late Mr Pargeter, life should have been more than comfortable. When the central heating breaks down Mrs Pargeter decides to contact the former occupants, the Cottons, for advice. But the address to which they should have moved doesn't exist and Mr Cotton's employers seem to have no trace of him. Then Mrs Pargeter finds an unposted letter addressed to the Church of Utter Simplicity - and begins to wonder, where are the Cottons?

• Simon Brett worked as a radio and TV producer before taking up writing full-time. He is the author of the extremely popular Charles Paris and Mrs Pargeter detective series.