HAMMOND INNES

Karen and Trevor have seen too many oil tankers run aground near Lands End, their poisonous cargo turning the waters black and suffocating all natural life for miles around. The PetrosJupiter is the latest devastating wreck, and tired of local committees that have no effect, Karen resolves on more drastic measures. It is left to her husband to unravel the tragedy and mystery that follow.

It all begins with a lump of rock. To Bill Gansert, it seems a message from beyond the grave; the legacy of his one-time colleague George Farnell who disappeared in a storm of mystery and suspicion ten years ago. The rock, an enticing hint at a rich, hidden supply of mineral ore, leads Gansert and a team of men to Norway and to a glacial labyrinth of mountains, following in Farnells footsteps to the source of the ore. But others have heard of the rock, and the wealth it promises, and are also hot on the trail...

What could link the slick world of London boardrooms, an isolated island race in the Maldives and the mysterious voyages of a battered ship skippered by a brooding alcoholic? It falls to Geoffrey Bailey to unlock the mystery, but first he must overcome both family tragedy and the unpredictable treacheries of land, sea and big business.

The spectre of another world war haunts journalist Walter Craig and disturbs the peace of his seaside holiday. But below the Cornish cliffs, hidden by churning seas, the enemy is very real indeed, and much closer than anyone could suspect. Craig and his singularly resourceful fisherman friend alone discover the terrible truth - a potentially devastating threat to Britains merchant ships - and alone must risk their lives against the might of the German navy. This is a classic wartime adventure from the master of suspenseful storytelling.

A 22,000 ton whaling ship steams into a broken plain of white, glimmering ice during the howling fury of an Antarctic gale. What madness drives the ship forwards, deeper and deeper into the ice until its jagged edges hold her fast? Marooned amidst the pitiless, frozen wastes, the crew of the Southern Cross make a desperate attempt to survive against the odds.

When David Cunningham returns to the Cornish coast to mourn a wartime love affair, he little imagines the mysterious quest that awaits him: it will lead him to the Mediterranean, to danger and a life of adventure, to the dark world of racketeering in Naples, the bleak hills beyond Tivoli, and a woman with a tragic past.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ANDY MCNABHe was a man without hope, until a lawyer and a crazy inheritance spurred him to one last desperate roll of the dice.The old man was convinced, against all evidence, that there was oil in the Rocky mountains. So his grandson sets off to a godforsaken town of shattered hopes and bitter old men, and plunges into a perilous battle against hostile country, powerful enemies and a ticking clock.

The battered hulk of a huge ship looms out of the stinging spray of a furious gale. Only one man, half-mad, remains aboard, working without sleep or sustenance to save her from sinking.But this man is no hero, and this ship was not meant to be saved. As Hammond Innes classic tale moves from desperate struggles on the sea to a nail-biting courtroom controversy, the murky truth about the last voyage of the Mary Deare finally comes to light.

Buried treasure, buried lies, and snow that hides everything.High in the Italian Dolomites, the war is over but its ghosts are not. Beneath the snow, a fortune in stolen Nazi gold waits to be found. To the isolated ski hut at Val di Fassa come five strangers, each with a reason for being there: a disgraced film producer and his cameraman, a beautiful countess with secrets of her own, a petty criminal who knows too much, and Neil Blair, a struggling screenwriter hired to watch and report.As blizzards close the passes and nerves begin to fray, the fragile alliances between them splinter. What began as an opportunity becomes a trap and the mountain itself turns executioner.Hammond Innes delivers pure suspense against a backdrop of ice and isolation. The Lonely Skier is a classic thriller about trust, betrayal and survival when the past refuses to stay buried.A superbly constructed and atmospheric thriller Independent