DAVID GEORGE CLARKE
“Nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat crime writing.”
“Unputdownable modern and historical thrillers.”
“Wow, what an author and what a story he tells!”
THE COTTON & SILK CRIME THRILLERS
THE DUST OF CENTURIES
“This trilogy has something for everyone. Historical fiction, murder mystery, romance, sci-fi, art history and more.”
With the right DNA, you could be free from disease, free from ageing.
You could even live forever.
John Andrews has the right DNA …
AN IMPERFECT REVENGE
IN VILLA BROCANTI, NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS
“My hair stood up on the back of my neck reading this.”
“The ingenuity needed to create the labyrinth in the ancient villa left me truly amazed.”
“This story had an air of menace that reminded me of ‘Tales of the Unexpected’. I loved it.”
A CHILLING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
When travel blogger Evie Lorrigan arrives at the Villa Brocanti resort in Tuscany to review it, she is irritated to find no staff on duty, no phone signal and the pool closed. Undeterred, she decides to explore the Brocanti estate where deep in dense woods, she discovers the boarded-up ruin of a massive villa.
Her journalistic interest piqued, Evie searches for and discovers a way in, only to find herself in a terrifying maze of tricks and traps.
,,,, more
And finally, something completely different …
Illustrated Children's Books from Gail Clarke
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… an art gallery in the Lake District where she is rebuffed and angrily sent packing by the gallery owner, John Andrews, who tells her he has no interest in her research and threatens to report her. While surprised and dismayed by the intensity of Andrews’ response, Claudia remains undaunted, determined to find a way to unravel the secrets hidden in his genetic code.
Meanwhile, John Andrews is worried. Although he knows little about DNA, he understands that his must be very special — how else could he have lived for more than five hundred years and still show no sign of ageing? But bitter experience over the centuries has taught the quincentenarian that if his secret is discovered, he could be in mortal danger.
As Claudia slowly moves closer to the incredible truth, she is unaware that she has unleashed a threat to John’s existence far greater than anything he has faced in the past.
Set throughout the world during the past six centuries, Quincentenarian is a fast-moving thriller that interweaves art history, forensic science and DNA profiling with John Andrews’ lives as various artists. It traces his lovers, his families and his friends, and above all it traces the challenges he faces in order to survive. For no matter how long he lives, one thing is certain: John Andrews can never stop looking over his shoulder.
Reviews of Quincentenarian
“… there are as many twists and turns as you’d find on a Lake District road. My advice is read this book – you won’t be disappointed.”
“An interesting, unique and compelling story, where both time lines are as intriguing and relevant as each other.”
“What made this book stand out from the crowd, was the melding of a scientific storyline with art history – certainly I’ve not come across anything like this before – absolutely brilliant. If you read a lot of books of the same genre, after a while they seem to follow a set pattern; this book is unique and certainly I found I couldn’t put it down.”
“Stretching over 500 years, the story stitches each part together seamlessly. As thrillers go, I couldn’t put this book down and got to many a 2am before reluctantly having to!”
“This book was great fun, clever and thought provoking.”
“This is a hidden gem. I have really enjoyed the book and its unique plot line.”
“An interesting and original premise with extremely well-drawn characters, I can recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery!”
“One of the best reads I have ever come across. It alternates between interwoven stories so well, it is a delight to read.”
“Highly believable, written with conviction. Could not put it down!”
“Brilliant, highly recommended.”
“You felt that this could easily happen in the not too distant future.”
“An original and thrilling read that is hard to put down.”
“The story was unique and absorbing and I enjoyed the author’s writing style.”
“Associating history of art with forensic science is quite an accomplishment. Fun, intelligent and to be recommended.”
“Takes you on a rare journey through time and the human spirit.”
“I made time to read this one, instead of just reading it when I had time.”
“This is one of the best books I’ve read in years. The plot, the characters, the historical detail are all amazingly good.”
“The thing that makes this book special is how it uses the forensic and art restoration sciences to propel an historic thriller.”
If you’re looking for something different that is incredibly well-written, [Quincentenarian]is the book for you, highly recommended.”
“I highly recommend this book as it encompasses several different genres and excels in each and every one of them.”
“This splendid and original story is a real page-turner.”
“From its fifteenth-century opening salvo to its surprising twentieth-century denouement it kept me guessing all the way.”
“I’m a fan of art and science fiction, so when I heard about this book, I knew I wanted to read it. When I finally did, I didn’t put it down until I was finished.”
“This book is fabulous, I looked forward to reading it every night and often stayed up far too late.”
“… gets into your head and I found myself thinking about it during the day which has not happened for years.”
“The story of his life though the ages is quite astounding.”
“Mr. Clarke is a brilliant and gifted story teller.”
“I loved this book….it is such an unusual plot and so very well written.”
“The book is a wonderful blend of the real and unreal, carrying the reader along through the centuries and through many adventures.”
“The book combines a very unique combination of history and current scientific knowledge to create a great story.”
“I recommend this to anyone who likes an impossible but imaginable plot with lots of action, changing characters, art, DNA, relationships, or just life!”
“… an original and thrilling read that is hard to put down.”
“Absolutely could not put this down – what wonderful characters, each so unique.”
“This story blends the very old with the very newest technology and weaves a wonderful tale along the way.”
“Very compelling, layered story that is quite the page-turner! Picked it up and couldn’t put it down.”
“Highly recommend to anyone – but especially someone with a passion for history.”
“Best book I have read in long time. A rip roaring read.”
“… an exceptionally fascinating story with such interesting characters.”
“I loved this book. Very well written and engaging. The weaving of past and future was so believable that I may start looking for the immortals among us :)”
… artist and yet neither is a forgery, he immediately thinks of his quincentenarian friend John Andrews and his incredible history. Could the artist be John’s long-lost daughter, Paola Santini, born centuries ago in Naples? And if so, who is the woman in Boston?
Further enquiries reveal that the modern artist, Annie Carr, was a delusional murderer incarcerated in a state psychiatric institution in Colorado in 1970, and worse, she is long dead. But if Annie Carr really was John’s daughter, Ced knows she will have honed her survival skills to perfection over the centuries and her apparent death could be a ruse. If that is the case, where is she now?
When John Andrews picks up the trail, he discovers he is not alone: a mysterious billionaire is also searching for Annie, and with almost unlimited resources, he will stop at nothing to find her.
The second book in the Dust of Centuries series continues the tale of 15th-century artist John Andrews and those who share his extraordinary longevity. Centred around the daughter John has never met, The Delusion Gambit is the story of a woman whose character is honed by adversity, her life a constant fight for survival in a world that will never understand her.
While Jacques protests his innocence and the police build their case, it takes the expertise of Claudia Reid, the feisty forensic geneticist who helped to unravel the code behind John Andrews’ centuries-old secret, to explain the paradox.
But why has Paola been abducted and by whom? Remembering his own close brush with death at the hands of the ruthless big pharma magnate Wallingford Peterson, John is convinced that Paola’s life is in imminent danger. And given that she has disappeared without trace, someone with resources as extensive as Peterson’s were must be responsible.
Meanwhile, Paola is sequestered on a remote estate thousands of miles away where her captor attempts to beguile her. Determined to outwit him, Paola draws on murderous skills acquired over the centuries while at the same time facing the hard truth about herself.
… an increasingly watertight case against him, his disdain turns to horror when he is charged with murder.
Jennifer Cotton, the young detective constable who uncovers much of the damning evidence, has no doubt about the actor’s guilt until an unexpected revelation turns her world on its head.
Unceremoniously removed from the case and her reputation in tatters, Jennifer risks her future by pursuing her own investigation, determined now to prove Silk’s innocence.
As one startling discovery leads to another, she draws closer to the real killer, and closer to a potentially fatal confrontation.
… However, when the search for the serial killer goes cold and Jennifer is back to full health, she puts all her energy into her new role with the London Metropolitan Police’s Art Fraud Squad who are investigating a multi-million-pound art-forgery racket based in Italy.
But has Jennifer Cotton’s nemesis gone to ground or is she closer than the young detective thinks, biding her time?
In this gripping sequel to Irrefutable Evidence, Jennifer Cotton once again finds herself in the cross hairs of a merciless serial killer who will stop at nothing until she has achieved her revenge, a killer without scruples, a killer bent on retribution.
… the person behind her friend’s disappearance is far closer to home than she imagines.
Little does she realise that an elderly man she sees sitting with his placid pug dog in a pub in central Nottingham is the enigmatic assassin Cosimo Graziano Rosselli.
Little does she realise that Cosimo Graziano Rosselli is planning how and when to kill her.
“It will be instant, amore. One moment she will be alive, the next her soul will be on its way to heaven while her body crumples to a lifeless shell.”
Prevented from leaving by doors with no handles closing behind her, she is forced to make her way onwards and upwards through elaborately painted rooms and corridors until, when a final door closes behind her, she is trapped in an attic room along with the gruesome remains of a long-dead man.
Evie knows nothing about the secretive Brocanti family’s history, nothing about the tyrannical Marchese Salvatore Brocanti, a brilliant artist working in the late 1800s, and nothing about the mysterious disappearance of his wife and children.
What Evie does know is that she is trapped in a deserted ruin with no food and little water.
And no one knows she is there…
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“If you haven’t read this author yet, you are missing a trick.”
“A brilliant ending that I never saw coming.”
“Good plot twists and some great characters made for an exciting page turner…”
“… the telling is so cleverly constructed, so beautifully described, so rigorously researched that I couldn’t put it down.”
“A genius idea with continuing twists and turns I certainly didn’t spot…..right to the last few pages.”
“An original and innovative concept full of intrigue, mystery, suspense, twist and turns and an ending to die for.”