Four books. One interconnected world of science, money and secrets.
The Zoe Blaise Mysteries follow investigations that reach beneath the polished surface of the international beauty industry. Each book reveals more of the people, past decisions and powerful interests shaping that world.
If you are new to the series, there are two natural places to begin: Shadow Ledger introduces the Count and the origins of Orpheus Consulting, while Pink Bobbit opens Zoe’s first investigation.
Shadow Ledger — The Prequel
Long before Zoe Blaise entered the story, Giovanni Jones made a decision whose consequences would change his life. Read Shadow Ledger as a standalone mystery, as an introduction to the series, or to discover the past behind familiar characters.
Pink Bobbit — Book One
Begin here to meet Zoe Blaise and follow the investigation that opens the wider conspiracy. It can be read as a standalone mystery, with Shadow Ledger adding another layer to the people and relationships Zoe encounters.
Cold Indifference — Book Two
A new investigation takes Zoe and the Orpheus team deeper into the connections between cosmetic science, influence and control. It can be read independently, although readers of Pink Bobbit will recognise the history behind some of its relationships.
Digital Facade — Book Three
The conspiracy develops further as beauty, technology and deception converge. Read Digital Facade after Cold Indifference, as it continues that story and its consequences.
For the fullest journey through the series, the chronological reading order is Shadow Ledger, Pink Bobbit, Cold Indifference, then Digital Facade.
Explore the books below, discover what readers have said, and listen to selected readings. Book trailers are available on the News page.
SHADOW LEDGER
BEFORE EVERY MYSTERY, THERE WAS ONE MISTAKE…
Long before Zoe Blaise. Before Orpheus Consulting. Before anyone called him the Count. There was Giovanni Jones. A brilliant forensic accountant at the Bank of Italy, Giovanni has an extraordinary ability to recognise patterns hidden within financial records. When a series of anomalies leads somewhere it shouldn’t, his talent attracts the attention of a world far removed from banking.
Intelligence.
What begins with suspicious transactions soon reveals something far more troubling: connections between corporations, financial institutions and people powerful enough to ensure certain questions are never asked. Giovanni believes in evidence. He believes in procedure. Above all, he believes that if the truth can be proved, the system will act upon it.
Then comes a decision. Lawful. Principled. Defensible. And devastating…
At its heart, Shadow Ledger is the story of a man whose belief in evidence endures even as his faith in the institutions meant to act on it begins to fracture. For Giovanni, uncovering the truth is only the beginning. Deciding what to do with it—and living with the consequences—will shape the man who becomes the Count and the organisation known as Orpheus.
Available on Amazon in Paperback and Kindle, and available to order from other bookshops. ISBN: 978-3-9827751-3-5
PINK BOBBIT
My debut novel, and the first in The Montague Trilogy
SHE LEFT ONE FINAL MESSAGE…
A body in a quiet Welsh hotel. Powerful people with dangerous secrets.
And two words written in lipstick: PINK BOBBIT
A message? A warning? Or a signature?
When a financial fraud analyst is found dead, consultant fraud analyst and reluctant investigator Zoe Blaise is drawn into a case that extends far beyond a single suspicious death.
More victims follow. The evidence points to the glamorous world of cosmetics — an industry built on beauty, science and promises of transformation. But behind the polished façade, Zoe discovers counterfeit research, corporate betrayal and a product that may be far more dangerous than anyone is prepared to admit.
Someone is manipulating the truth. And someone is prepared to kill to protect it.
From storm-lashed South Wales to London and Milan, Zoe follows a trail through laboratories, corporate boardrooms and unexpected corners of the beauty world. But the deeper she investigates, the clearer it becomes that the people behind Pink Bobbit are not simply protecting a commercial secret.
They are protecting something much bigger. And Zoe may already have attracted their attention.
THE TRUTH ISN’T HIDDEN. IT’S CONTROLLED.
Drawing on real-world issues in cosmetic science and the global beauty industry, Pink Bobbit combines forensic investigation, corporate conspiracy and scientific intrigue in a thriller where glamour provides the perfect camouflage for something far darker.
It is the first Zoe Blaise Mystery and the beginning of a conspiracy that continues through Cold Indifference and Digital Facade. For readers who enjoy intelligent mysteries, corporate intrigue, strong female investigators and thrillers in which science becomes part of the crime.
Pandora’s box has been opened.
Available from many bookstores including:
Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
Other bookstores via: Books2Read
ISBN: 978-3-9827751-0-4
Book reading: Pink Bobbit, Chapter One
Cold Indifference
SOME PLACES SHOULD NEVER BE FOUND…
A faceless cartel is rewriting the skin’s microbiome. Creams that promise perfection. Science that rewires desire. Millions are using them. No one knows the truth. Three years after the Pink Bobbit affair, Zoe Blaise is drawn into another investigation — and this time the science is far more disturbing. A lead takes her to Tokyo, where classified research points to something that should not be possible: cosmetic technology capable of altering far more than the appearance of human skin.
Behind it lies Montague Industries. Powerful. Global. Almost untouchable.
As Zoe and the Orpheus team follow the evidence, the boundaries between cosmetic science, human identity and psychological manipulation begin to blur. Clinical trials conceal secrets. Scientific ambition has moved beyond ethics. And somewhere within the investigation lies a betrayal Zoe doesn’t see coming.
The closer she gets to Montague, the more dangerous the truth becomes. This time, the people behind the conspiracy don’t simply want to stop her investigation. They want Zoe herself.
From Tokyo to Europe and into the hidden world of Sanctuary, Cold Indifference takes the Zoe Blaise Mysteries deeper into a conspiracy where beauty has become a weapon and the human mind may be the ultimate prize.
Drawing on real-world cosmetic science and clinical research, Cold Indifference blends forensic investigation, scientific intrigue and psychological suspense in a thriller about identity, control and the terrible possibilities that emerge when innovation loses its moral boundaries.
The second Zoe Blaise Mystery, following Pink Bobbit, and the next stage of the conspiracy that continues into Digital Facade.
THE TRUTH ISN’T HIDDEN. IT’S CONTROLLED.
Beauty is only skin deep. Until it rewrites your mind.
Available from many bookstores including:
Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
Other bookstores via: Books2Read
ISBN: 978-3-9827751-5-9
Book reading: Cold Indifference, Chapter Three
DIGITAL FACADE
The climax of the Montague Trilogy
REALITY IS OPTIONAL… BEAUTY IS THE BAIT
The algorithm is the weapon. The mind is the battlefield. The illusion has architects. It doesn’t hide behind the screen.
It is the screen.
Still recovering from the events of Sanctuary, Zoe Blaise has retreated to the remote west coast of Wales, hoping distance might finally bring something approaching peace. It doesn’t last.
A new trail leads Orpheus towards a world where beauty is no longer created by cosmetics alone. Algorithms can influence desire. Technology can manipulate perception. And the boundary between what people see and what they believe is becoming dangerously blurred. At the centre of it all is an innovation that promises perfection.
But what if a mirror could show you more than your reflection? What if technology could learn what you wanted to see — and then persuade you that the illusion was real?
As Zoe and her allies begin pulling at the threads, they discover that the conspiracy they have been pursuing has evolved again. Science and beauty have collided with something infinitely more powerful: data. And those controlling it are no longer content merely to influence what people buy.
The stakes have become much higher.
From the isolation of the Welsh coast to the unsettling world of Silicon Valley technology and an increasingly sophisticated global conspiracy, Digital Facade takes the Zoe Blaise Mysteries into a world where identity can be engineered, behaviour manipulated and reality itself placed in doubt.
Drawing on the collision between beauty, emerging technology and human psychology, Digital Facade is a conspiracy thriller about the seductive power of perfection — and what can happen when technology learns how easily human perception can be controlled.
The third Zoe Blaise Mystery, following Pink Bobbit and Cold Indifference, brings the Montague conspiracy towards its most dangerous confrontation yet.
They think they are untouchable. But Zoe is coming for the truth.
THE TRUTH ISN’T HIDDEN. IT’S CONTROLLED.
Available from many bookstores including:
Waterstones, Barnes & Noble, Amazon
Other bookstores via: Books2Read
ISBN: 978-3-9827751-8-0
Book reading: Digital Facade, Chapter Seven
