Nikki Copleston

Directions for Murder

A Jeff Lincoln Novel

Nikki Copleston is the author of the DI Jeff Lincoln crime novels, contemporary police procedurals set in Wiltshire. She writes short stories and flash fiction, winning the Wells Literary Festival short story competition in 2019 and the Frome Festival short story competition in 2022.

About Directions for Murder

DI Jeff Lincoln investigates the brutal stabbing of writer Christian Darbyshire, killed while looking into the death of Hamilton Vaughn, a popular pantomime dame who took his own life thirty years ago – or was he murdered? Was there any truth in the rumours of sexual abuse behind the scenes at Barbury Theatre before Vaughn died? Who wanted to silence Darbyshire before he could reveal their secrets?

Lincoln suspects it’s one of the teenagers who acted with Vaughn in his last panto. In their forties now and famous, they’ve all got something to hide – but which of them has the most to lose?

Ritchie Payne vanishes on the night of Darbyshire’s death. Can Lincoln find this vulnerable young man before it’s too late? Is there a connection between Ritchie’s disappearance and that of a teenage boy six years ago? How on earth can these disappearances be linked to Darbyshire’s murder?

As if solving these crimes isn’t enough, Lincoln has to deal with a crisis in his personal life – a crisis for which he’s totally unprepared.

This is the sixth book in the series, set in Wiltshire and featuring DI Jeff Lincoln and his team at Barley Lane.