Crime Novels by Stephen J Grant
Mortified - #1 in the Series The Melvin Peters Mysteries
Available 20 November 2026.
When recently widowed undertaker Melvin Peters finds a man murdered in his own basement mortuary, he can’t help taking it personally: the victim is an old enemy. Worse, he was supposed to be dead already, the clue being he was in a mortuary fridge.
DI Janice Evans, Melvin’s teenage crush turned investigating detective, seals off his workplace as a crime scene, threatening his already flat-lining business with bankruptcy. With two young children and a mortgage unimpressed by grief, Melvin sees only two choices: watch everything collapse or take matters into his own hands. He starts digging into the victim’s associates, including a bully-turned-businessman with political ambitions and a long-term employee nursing a grudge.
But when Melvin makes a crucial breakthrough, his elation turns to despair after one disastrous mistake puts his family in the sights of someone prepared to make inconvenient people disappear for good.
Darkly comic, character-driven British crime for readers who like their mysteries funny in places, dangerous in others, and never quite cosy.
Interested in reviewing Mortified before it launches?
To request an advance review copy, email info@stevegrantauthor.com with the subject “Mortified review copy request”.
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Petrified - #2 in the Series The Melvin Peters Mysteries
The perfect high. What could go wrong?
Funeral director Melvin Peters is just getting back on his feet after his last brush with murder. He could do with keeping out of trouble.
Then his best friend Angus disappears right before they’re due to meet.
Angus had wanted to speak to him. Now Mel can’t ask him why.
But in Neringdon, there’s more at stake than Mel realises. A new drug, Ambrosia, promises to make a few people very rich. And an inquisitive funeral director is an unwelcome complication.
Mel knows he should leave the investigating to the police. His children need their father. But Angus is a father too. Surely Mel can ask a few questions for an old friend?
Darkly comic, character-driven British crime for readers who like their mysteries dangerous and not too cosy.
Petrified will be published in 2027.