Fran Varady

Fran Varady is insolvent, unemployed, and, though for the moment she's got the leaky roof of the squat she shares in Jubilee Street over her head, she'll very soon be homeless thanks to the council eviction department. Her dreams of becoming an actress, nurtured when her father and grandmother were still alive, seem a long way off. But Fran is a survivor... which her former housemate, Terry, found hanging from the ceiling of her room, clearly is not. Terry, secretive and selfish, was far from popular with the rest of the household, but her death shakes the Jubilee Street Creative Artists' Commune, as the squat residents half jokingly call themselves. And, the more Fran discovers about the death of the young woman whose life briefly intersected with her own, the more she begins to see it was not all it first seemed.

Buying a coffee for down-and-out "Alkie" Albie at Marylebone Station is Fran Varady's good deed for the day. But when the grateful Albie takes her into his confidence, Fran suddenly finds herself launched on her second investigation. For Albie, though obviously fond of a drink and none too familiar with soup and water, is absolutely clear about one thing-he claims to be the only witness to the violent abduction of a young girl. His story is so convincing that even after the police scornfully dismiss it as alcoholic hallucinations, Fran is determined to up her suspicions. And those suspicions seem to be spot on when she is warned off by her old sparring partner, Sergeant Parry, and then approached by a boyhood friend of her late father's, distraught over the kidnapping of his daughter. But this is only the beginning of Fran's investigation-days later, Alkie Albie is found dead...

When a stranger is stabbed to death, Fran's own life is put in danger... Amateur sleuth Fran Varady has to stay ahead of a killer in Running Scared, the third exciting mystery in Ann Granger's Fran Varady series. A must-listen for fans of LJ Ross and Elly Griffiths. Aspiring actress and part-time private investigator Fran Varady knew there would be maximum disruption when her friend Ganesh decided to modernize his uncle's newsagents, starting with the washroom. But she isn't prepared for the nightmare that begins when an agitated passerby asks to use it: hours later, he's found stabbed to death, leaving a message for Fran to meet him, and a mysterious roll of film hidden behind the old pipes... Fran realizes that whoever wanted the negatives knows where they were hidden. And, probably, where they are now. With her police protection more a hindrance than a help, an old friend, Tig, on the verge of collapse, and the builders wreaking havoc in the shop, can Fran find out why someone is prepared to murder for the negatives-before they find her?

When Fran Varady is approached by Private Investigator Clarence Duke, she mistrusts him on instinct. But she can't ignore what he has to tell her. Her mother, Eva, who walked out on Fran when she was only seven years old, has hired Clarence to find her daughter. And for good reason. Eva is dying. Within days, Fran is reunited with the mother she hasn't seen for fifteen years, and is soon to lose again. But the biggest bombshell is still to come. Eva has another child - a daughter she gave up soon after her birth - and she wants Fran to find her. Matters aren't helped by the fact that slippery Clarence Duke seems intent on discovering what she's up to. But it's when he's found dead in his car outside Fran's home that the trouble really begins...

Fran Varady fell into private detective work by accident rather than design. Now she's got a "real" job at a trendy pizzeria, she's back on track with her acting ambitions, and she's even found a nice flat to rent. But things aren't as straightforward as they seem. The job, for a start: there's something rather sinister about the way the pizzeria is run. And the play rehearsals aren't going well. As if all this doesn't bring problems enough, Fran has rashly undertaken to help a young boy, illegally in the country, find an elusive people-trafficker called Max. When the trail Fran is following is suddenly and tragically interrupted by a horrifying death, she finds herself up against dangerous men and a ruthless organization.

Whilst pursuing one crime investigation, Fran Varady gets caught up in another... Amateur sleuth Fran Varady faces more questionable characters in her most complicated investigation yet. Mixing with Murder is the sixth sparky mystery in Ann Granger's Fran Varady series, not to be missed by fans of Carola Dunn and Val McDermid. Fran Varady isn't keen to help seedy club owner Mickey Allerton track down Lisa, a dancer who's done a bunk. But since Mickey's holding Fran's dog Bonnie hostage till the job's done, she doesn't have much choice. She quickly locates Lisa and they arrange to meet-but when Fran gets there early, the first thing she sees is a body floating in the river. It's Ivo, one of Mickey's nastier bouncers. If Lisa wasn't terrified already, she is when she gets this news, and Fran finds herself torn between helping the frightened girl and doing Mickey's bidding. And it's all about to get a lot more complicated...

Who could be after a harmless old lady? Amateur sleuth Fran Varady takes it upon herself to investigate an old love affair and a family quarrel in Rattling the Bones, the seventh and final mystery in the popular Fran Varady series by Ann Granger. Perfect for fans of Kate Ellis and Ann Cleeves. Edna, the dotty bag lady who Fran Varady used to see living in a churchyard with only feral cats for company, has crossed her path again. Now Edna is staying in a hostel, spending her days roaming as before. But Fran begins to see a method to her madness and, even though no one will believe her, she is certain Edna is being followed. Who could be interested in a harmless old lady? Determined to protect her from this hidden danger, Fran finds herself digging into Edna's previous life and an old love affair and family quarrel come to light. But by rattling the bones of the past, Fran has uncovered more than she bargained for...