Ex-Chief Constable Bob Watts investigates what really happened in the unsolved Brighton Trunk Murder of 1934; Sarah Gilchrist probes the Milldean Massacre; and Jimmy Tingley tails the Balkan gangsters who wreaked havoc in Brighton.

"Brighton, 1950. The body of a girl is found cut into three pieces. Detective Inspector Edgar Stephens is convinced the killer is mimicking a famous magic trick--the Zig Zag Girl. The inventor of the trick, Max Mephisto, is an old war friend of Edgar's. They served together in a shadowy unit called the Magic Men, a special ops troop that used stage tricks to confound the enemy. Max is on the traveling show circuit, touring seaside towns with ventriloquists,...

May 1953. As the country prepares for the coronation of Elizabeth II, the optimistic mood is spoiled for DI Edgar Stephens and his wartime comrade, magician Max Mephisto, when they are informed by a high-ranking general that their old commander, Colonel Cartwright, has been murdered. This general found some puzzling items in Cartwight's pockets, not least a playbill featuring Tony 'The Mind' Mulholland (deceased), and a playing card, the ace of hearts:...

"When Major Richard Rabbitt, owner of a large estate in Sussex, is found floating in a lake belonging to Nimue Grace, a charismatic former Hollywood actress, DI Sarah Gilchrist and DS Bellamy Heap are called in to investigate - and quickly discover Rabbitt was a notoriously difficult man to deal with. Rabbitt was hated by his estranged wife, had several rivalries with residents of the area, and was involved in a number of deals with other shady businessmen...