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 investigation, no trace of Jennifer Evans is ever found. The only evidence is a photograph taken by a fellow passenger of footprints in the snow in front of Holdergate station. It appears someone was fleeing for their life.... Contacted by Jennifer's daughter, at first it seems private investigator John "Slim" Hardy has no chance of solving a forty-two-year-old mystery. But as the case begins to unravel, Slim finds himself caught in the centre of a whirlwind which will send him spinning to a dramatic conclusion.

THE NEW SLIM HARDY MYSTERY RELEASED SEPTEMBER 10th 2020 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 before. Also in this series: The Man by the Sea The Clockmaker's Secret The Games Keeper Slow Train Coming soon: The Eighth Day

THE THRILLING NEW SLIM HARDY MYSTERY FROM JACK BENTON After nearly a year out of the game, former soldier turned private detective John "Slim" Hardy takes what he hopes will be an easy comeback case in the quiet Devonshire town of Launceston. The disappearance in mysterious circumstances of local schoolgirl Emily Martin left police clueless. Eight days later, her sudden reappearance left them equally baffled. Apparently unharmed, Emily claimed no memory of her period of abduction, and in time, the investigation faded. Two years later, as her relationship with her daughter falls apart, Emily's desperate mother Gloria turns to Slim, wanting answers. Her eight days missing has changed Emily, so much so that Gloria is unsure the girl is even her daughter at all ... From the author of The Man by the Sea and The Clockmaker's Secret, comes another stunning mystery, one which will keep you guessing to the last page.

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 secrets, some of which the residents would prefer to stay buried.Twenty-three years ago, a reclusive clockmaker left his workshop and walked out onto Bodmin Moor, taking his last, unfinished clock with him.He disappeared.Slim is determined to find out why.The Clockmaker's Secret is the stunning sequel to Jack Benton's acclaimed debut, The Man by the Sea.