As the nights draw in and the wind rises in the trees outside, why not curl up with a traditional ghost story? The Mincer is a chilling tale of what might happen if you starting nosing around beneath the deceptively placid surface of an English village.

You can download the story as an electronic file - or there's a limited edition of just 100 hand-produced and signed copies. All proceeds go to the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity. Click here for more information or to order your copy.

"Mr Todd took her elbow. She shivered at his touch, which was cold and clammy, but he gave no sign of having noticed this as he guided her through the next door, into the packing room. Here too everything was clinically neat, with grease-proof and brown paper on rolls on the walls; scissors, string, a small weighing machine, a Stanley knife and a dozen other tools of the dispatcher’s trade all in their allotted place."

The small village of Caxton, on the foggy Norfolk coast, holds many memories for Sarah Delaney - most of which she's tried hard to forget. For Caxton was the place where her boyfriend Tom had lived - and where he died. Now she has been sent back there in the early hours of the morning to investigate a disturbing sighting - the bodies of a man and a woman on the mist-covered beach. Unfortunately, by the time Sarah arrives the tide has come in and the bodies have been washed out to sea. As a murder investigation is launched, Sarah is forced to confront many ghosts from her past. Read more

'It's a clever plot, efficiently delivered, with a sympathetic central character...An accomplished, intriguing story.' Observer

'Sleeping Partner was an auspicious and impressive debut for James Humphreys, and this successor displays the same casual assurance, notably in its nimble plotting.' Waterstones

'Surprising, disturbing and exciting' Scotsman

Karina hasn't seen her old school-friend Julia for ten years, and when they meet for lunch and she hears about Julia's rich new husband Stuart and the country house where she now lives, she can hardly recognise the girl she knew and loved. But then Julia's poise cracks, and she confides that she is frightened of Stuart, even suspects that he is planning to kill her. Karina at once agrees to help. She has no ties in London and will move back to Ashton to watch over Julia, Her friend is relieved, filled with gratitude, and they toast their renewed alliance against a hostile world. But meanwhile they are being observed; and instead of protecting her friend, Karina's own life will soon hang on a knife-edge.

If you'd like to read some of the chapters in proof and perhaps even comment on the characetrs or settings, or see other work in progress, then click here.