Paper Hearts and Summer Kisses by Carole Matthews

Single mum Christie Chapman sets out early each morning to commute by coach into London to work as a secretary in a legal firm.  She gets home late in the evenings and spends time with her teenage son Finn.  Christie is very creative, she is always watching Creative World on the television, she enjoys all sorts of crafts and sells some of her cards to the people at work.  

She is amazed to be offered a chance to work for the US company Contemporary Crafts as their UK link, to get their name known and products sold in the UK, this is the ideal opportunity for Christie.  Just as things look about to take off in the crafting world Finn becomes ill and Christie has to make a choice about which career path she wants to follow as there is not enough time in the day to support Finn and hold down two jobs. 

Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton

Private Detective Kinsey Millhone is approached by 2 detectives who want her help in looking into an old murder case.  The body of an unknown young woman was found by them at the edge of a local quarry 18 years ago, her identity has never been established and her murderer has never been found.  The detectives want to have one last look at the case before they end their careers in the police force.  

Kinsey agrees to help them and together they go through the old murder book and re-look at all the evidence.  They talk to people who were both witnesses and suspects 18 years ago.  By retracing some of the possible steps some of these people may have taken they begin to piece together where the young woman could have been travelling from.  

Her jaw bones have been kept in police evidence as a lot of dental work had been undertaken which could help to identify her if they get a possible name. 

The Enemy by Lee Child

Early in the morning on New Years Day 1990 Major Jack Reacher receives a phone call from the local police to let him know that a soldier has been found dead in a motel bedroom.  The dead soldier turns out to be a General who was not where he should have been, was with someone he shouldn't have been with and his briefcase with confidential papers for a conference he is about to attend is missing.  When Reacher goes to the General's home to inform his wife he finds the house has been broken into and the wife dead on the floor.  

In typical Reacher style, when given an order to drop his investigations he immediately feels there is some cover-up taking place and he wants to get to the truth of what has happened.