Eric Ward Books
Following the devastating impact of foot-and-mouth disease, hill-farmer Paddy Fenton is facing financial ruin. When a casual acquaintance offers to lease one of his outbuildings for cash, the temptation of making a little money on the side is too good to turn down. He agrees - and doesn't inquire too closely into what might be happening there. It's the worst decision Fenton has ever made. A police raid on his barn uncovers the production of 'smokies' - illegal meat manufacturing - and the farmer is accused as an accessory. The criminal underworld that Fenton has unwittingly entered stretches far beyond the local countryside. It is down to lawyer Eric Word to rescue Fenton but it soon becomes apparent that meat manufacturing is the least of their worries. Botched operations, a divided and corrupt workforce, and a bleak landscape filled with desperate and disillusioned characters provide the backdrop for Ward's chilling journey into the dark underworld of the north, where it is not always clear who is running, or exactly whom they are running from.
Solicitor Eric Ward maintains a small criminal practice on Newcastle’s Quayside. This simple life, however, is soon to change. Eric’s reluctant attendance at an annual dinner leads him to meet Ben Shaw, a merchant banker who seems to know an awful lot about him. What Shaw tells Eric leads to the uncomfortable dredging up of his past. It seems Jason Sullivan QC- the reason behind Eric’s marriage break up- is involved in something big and it is up to Eric to find out what. Meanwhile, DCI Charlie Spate’s investigation into illegal immigration has revealed a new level of organization. Prostitution. Drugs. It’s big business. However, Spate is strangely pulled off the case in favor of re-opening a cold case: the killing of Michael Podro, an old man whose murder bore a striking resemblance to Nazi death camp killings. A strange, undetermined tattoo on his shoulder may be the only clue to the truth behind his murder. As past and present collide, Roy Lewis takes us on a gripping and suspense-ridden trip that keeps the pages turning until at last the two seemingly unrelated stories explode into one.
Tyneside solicitor Eric Ward has a new client: Dieter Barschel, an ex-professional footballer charged with drug dealing at a Newcastle racecourse. In managing to secure bail for his client, Eric precipitates another murder investigation, this time with connections stretching far outside Tyneside’s borders. Eric soon finds himself having to protect a German journalist, Hannah Witt, who things the case is connected to her homeland. Could it have anything to do with the Stasi, or perhaps even the IRA? While defending Barschel, Eric manages to annoy one of the prosecuting witnesses, DCI Charlie Spate. Nevertheless, the two men find that they must work together to try and resolve the mess that they feel partly responsible for creating. Meanwhile, Spate is almost as obsessed with the charms of DE Elaine Start as he is with solving the case, but embarrassing revelations about his acquaintance with Romy Arendt, a prostitute, may threaten both his career and possible chance of romance. Both political mystery and emotional thriller, Death Squad is Roy Lewis’ latest addition to the hugely successful Eric Ward series.
When Colonel Delamere dies at the hands of two burglars, his solicitor, Eric Ward, has to carry out the Colonel's instructions regarding an Anubis statuette: he is to send a sealed letter to the Foreign Office, and hand the statue over. Unfortunately, the statue was taken by the burglars and cannot be found. As well as the Foreign Office, others seem determined to acquire the mysterious statue - including Israeli Intelligence, and a gang of North-Eastern descendants of Yemeni immigrants known as the Sand Dancers. Will anyone discover the secrets of the Guardian of the Dead, or will they be taken to the grave?