Sergeant Frank Hardy

New Zealand, November 1868: Sergeant Frank Hardy has been sent into hostile territory to bring back a witness to the murder of a prominent man, but the killer is still out there and the rebels are closing in. After escorting a prisoner down from the front, Sergeant Frank Hardy of the 57th Regiment ("The Diehards") is ordered to return north to Woodall's Redoubt to bring a murder witness back to headquarters. A retired major and his wife, relatives of the new governor, have been shot to death on their farm near the redoubt. Five hundred Māori rebels have been spotted within a day's march of town. A line of fortified hilltops, or redoubts, stands between the town and the rebels, but Woodhall's Redoubt has been all but abandoned, the cavalry having ridden to Poverty Bay to attend to the aftermath of a horrendous massacre of woman and children. A small contingent of raw recruits and volunteers remains in place to slow the advance of the rebel force and to shelter the locals. The captain in charge has sent a volunteer into town to bring back an armed escort for the witness. In response, headquarters sends a single man: Sergeant Frank Hardy. By the time Hardy arrives the situation is so perilous the captain has decided to send two of the older settlers with Hardy. Hardy reluctantly agrees to escort the small group, but less than an hour into the trip another murder occurs. Now he has a witness and civilians to protect from a murderer. And all the while, the drumbeats of war are growing louder. This story takes place four months before the events in Chapter One of Not the Faintest Trace, book #1 of The Sergeant Frank Hardy Mysteries.

Manawatu, New Zealand, 1877: Sergeant Frank Hardy, a veteran of the Land Wars, is hired to search for two missing settlers. Is he looking for bodies or runaways? And why is someone trying to kill him? The answer lies in the river that is the life blood of the new community, and in his own tortured past. An engrossing, atmospheric mystery The first of three books in an ongoing saga of life in New Zealand, where a seemingly bucolic countryside was fraught with danger, from earthquakes, floods and fires, to the vestiges of war, and all the hardship that went with founding a new country thousands of miles from the homes of the new settlers from places as disparate as England, Ireland, Denmark, Germany, and China. The characters and story are brought to life by talented voice actor Sam Devereaux. If you like series with continuing storylines, like Anne Perry's Monk, Charles Todd's Inspector Rutledge, or Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy, you'll love following the continuing story of Sergeant Frank Hardy and Mette Jensen.

When Sergeant Frank Hardy awakes in an underground prison deep in the bush with no idea where he is, he searches his compromised memory for what has happened to him. Who has he met or what has he done to bring him to this place? The answer is buried in the past and he will have to dig it up before he can be free. The story began in The Sergeant Frank Hardy Mysteries: Book One, Not the Faintest Trace which brought together Sergeant Hardy and Danish Immigrant Mette Jensen during the search for two missing Danish men. An event from the past returned to complicate Hardy's life and as people start to die his own life is threatened.

NEW ZEALAND, 1878: Has the missing man been murdered in the dense bush, or has he simply abandoned his wife and children for another woman? Sergeant Frank Hardy and his new wife Mette attempt to solve two real mysteries from nineteenth century New Zealand: the whereabouts of Peter Kane, who left his home to look for work and did not return, and the brutal murder of an accommodation house owner who was splitting palings in the bush. Were they connected? If so, how? As one newspaper said at the time about the Peter Kane disappearance: "...the fate of the poor fellow may be cleared up, and the state of horrible suspense in which his unfortunate wife has been kept in for months brought to an end; and we would ask not only the people of Woodville, but of the other districts he may have visited, to take all possible steps to throw light upon what at present appears to be a dark and painful mystery. " The Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 81, 20 July 1878 This engaging novella is perfect for readers who have enjoyed the other three Sergeant Frank Mysteries, or who love Australian writers Paul Haworth, and Peter Carey, or historical mystery writers Anne Perry and Charles Todd. Characters are brought to life by the talented voice actor Sam Devereaux.

New Zealand, 1880: A body in a ditch, a missing wife, money in short supply, and a thoroughbred horse wanted by the leader of a brutal Australian gang - Sergeant Frank Hardy has a lot to handle. The third book in this gripping historical mystery series set in New Zealand in the 1880s continues the story of ex-Diehard Sergeant Frank Hardy and Danish settler Mette Jensen, now his wife. The temperance movement has taken hold in New Zealand, and the country is locked in the depths of a depression as a new land war threatens. When Sergeant Hardy and his new wife find themselves in financial straits, Hardy takes on Dead Shot, a stallion from a town near the front wanted by a brutal Australian gang trying to take over the racing world. Murder soon follows. When Hardy's wife disappears, apparently kidnapped by the gang, Hardy must track down the mysterious leader of the gang and take him out of commission. This well-researched novel is for lovers of historical thrillers set in unusual locations who enjoy Anne Perry, Charles Todd and Rhys Bowen, or readers who enjoy Dick Francis' racing thrillers.

THE WATERS ARE RISING, AND SO IS THE BODY COUNT Trapped by floods on their horse farm, Frank and Mette Hardy offer shelter to two other families. But when one of their guests is found with a carving knife from their own kitchen in his neck, they must keep themselves alive until help comes. A classic Agatha Christie/Knives out mystery, set in New Zealand in 1880 in the midst of a depression with war pending and the temperance movement still in full swing.

NEW ZEALAND, 1881 Sergeant Frank Hardy and his wife Mette travel to the southernmost point of New Zealand to chase gold thieves and to retrieve a manuscript for Mette to translate. But they have chosen to travel on an ill-fated voyage. Twenty miles from Bluff, on the south coast of the South Island of New Zealand, the SS Tararua hits a reef and sinks, with massive loss of life. This real event was the second-worst maritime disaster in New Zealand's history, in a country heavily reliant on shipping at that time. But the couple has more than a shipwreck to deal with, including a kidnapping, a murder, two lively baby girls and several cases of mistaken identity. Come to Grief is the sixth book in The Sergeant Frank Hardy Mysteries.

When Sergeant Frank Hardy's father, James Hardy, arrives from England, he's in thrall to a woman he met on the voyage. In forced quarantine on Somes Island in Wellington Harbour, Frank is visited by a man claiming to be a detective from the Chinatown Squad in San Francisco, who warns Frank that his father is in deep trouble. The woman has enemies, and they are on the way to New Zealand to find her and kill her. If James Hardy gets in their way, he's a dead man. Frank pursues the couple across the North Island by hansom cab, train, buggy and horse car; can he get to Napier and rescue his father before it's too late? Who is the mysterious man who keeps showing up? Is the detective whom he claims he is? Does James Hardy have a secret of his own? Find out in this gripping seventh book in The Frank Hardy Mysteries series.

He's all that's standing between his family and a hired assassin. And he's unarmed. After Sergeant Frank Hardy watches the invasion of a peaceful Māori village by the Armed Constabulary, with crops destroyed and innocent men imprisoned, he lays down his rifle and swears never to shoot in anger again. Then he learns that a contract killer has come from America to avenge the death of a crooked detective from San Francisco. The killer is targeting the Hardy family. Can Frank save his wife and children without relying on his weapons? This eighth book in The Sergeant Frank Hardy Mysteries hits all the high points of the previous seven: A showdown in the dangerous Manawatu Gorge; a kidnapping or two; murders; some new and some returning characters, including a giant Māori warrior and a mysterious major; and a battle on home ground.

Three more gripping mysteries set in late-19th-century New Zealand The second box set in the Sergeant Frank Hardy Mysteries (books 4-6) Join Sergeant Frank Hardy and Mette Hardy in these three exciting, action-packed mysteries. Dead Shot Frank and Mette take on the protection of a thoroughbred stud horse targeted by a brutal gang from the north. But when members of the gang are found closer to home than they realized, and Mette is kidnapped, the two must do all they can to defeat the gang. Lying Under Water Floodwaters have covered most of Frank and Mette's farm, leaving them trapped on a high paddock. When Frank discovers the body of a neighbor with a carving knife in his throat, the pair must protect their adopted children while they work out who the killer is and how they can send for help. Meanwhile, a young woman has disappeared and wild animals are roaming through the floods. Come to Grief When Frank takes on the job of following a suspected gold bullion thief, the pair set sail on a doomed steamship. Based on two true stories, the novel weaves a kidnapping, an arrest, and the aftermath of a maritime disaster into a fictional story about a New Zealand's greatest maritime disaster.

FROM NEW ZEALAND: THREE ATMOSPHERIC AND ENGAGING HISTORICAL MYSTERIES IN ONE SET In late nineteenth century New Zealand, Sergeant Frank Hardy, ex British soldier from the 57th Regiment, battles for survival and for his own life as he carves out a new existence for himself and his family in the prehistoric but stunningly beautiful bush. An "atmospheric and engaging" series. This three-book anthology (box set) includes, in chronological order: