Shop Ani- May
Kindle Unlimited
Unlimited reading. Over 4 million titles. Learn more
Read for Free
OR
$2.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Sold by Amazon.com Services LLC.

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Stewart Giles
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Ladybird: An addictive thriller with a massive twist. (Detective Jason Smith book 3) (A Detective Jason Smith Thriller) Kindle Edition

by Stewart Giles (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 920 ratings
From #1 best-selling author: Stewart Giles comes another addition to the popular Detective Jason Smith series.
Detective Sergeant Jason Smith is days away from the end of his sick leave after a case that almost cost him his life when he gets a call from an old friend. His friend has been arrested for the murder of a student. He wants Smith to investigate the murder and prove his innocence.
Smith is persuaded return to work. The student was killed with a bread knife. Ladybirds were scattered on his dead body. When another man is found dead with ladybirds on his body, Smith enlists the help of an insect doctor, the enigmatic Dr Karen Wood, to try and understand the significance of the ladybirds.
As Smith gets drawn closer to this mysterious woman and more and more men wind up dead with ladybirds on their bodies Smith quickly realises that Dr Wood is not who she seems to be. Smith and his team unearth a terrible secret from twenty years earlier; somebody wants justice and, as more and more men die, Smith realises he is running out of time to find out who.
This is a fast-paced page-turner with twists and turns all the way to an ending you won’t see coming. If you like Police Procedurals, then this is a series you won’t want to miss.
THE DETECTIVES
DS Jason Smith is an Australian who was sent to York to live with his Grandmother when his sister disappeared from a beach. He has suffered many losses in his short life and is now a dedicated detective.
DS Thompson is of the same rank as Jason, but he doesn’t have the same support or success. He and Jason have a love/hate relationship which brings a bit of humour to the series.
DC Erica Whitton is Jason’s preferred partner they work well together and share a bond. She isn’t always appreciated by Jason, but they care about each other and that brings a different dimension to the series.
What readers are saying about Ladybird:
‘This book was gripping from the first page to the last. The characters are all well written, believable and sympathetic.’ – Mrs Christine H Clark
‘Superb book left you guessing to the end.. Sends you up so many alleys and you still can’t see the outcome.’ – Mike ‘Another gripping book by this Author well written lots going on could not put this book down.’ – Kindle Customer

BOOKS BY STEWART GILES


DS JASON SMITH SERIES
Book 0.5 - Phobia
Book 1 - Smith
Book 2 - Boomerang
Book 3 - Ladybird
Book 4 - Occam’s Razor
Book 5 - Harlequin
Book 6 - Selene
Book 7 - Horsemen
Book 8 - Unworthy
Book 9 – Venom
Book 10 – Severed
Book 11 – Demons
Book 12 - Deadeye
Book 13 - Motive
Book 14 – Australia
Book 16 – Wishbone
Book 17 – Ghosts
Book 18 – The Scarecrow
Book 19 – The Bluesman
Book 20 – The Librarian
Book 21 – The Viaduct
Book 22 – The Twin
Book 23 – The Dogwalker
Book 24 – The Flytrap
Book 25 – The Electrician
Book 26 – The Cellar
Book 27 – The Loner
Book 28 – The Painter
Book 29 – The Hitchhiker
Book 30 – The Creed

DI O’REILLY MYSTERIES
Book 1 - Blood on the Island
Book 2 - Lies on the Island
Book 3 - Fear on the Island
Book 4 - Malice on the Island
Book 5 – Revenge on the Island
Book 6 – Christmas on the Island
Book 7 – Silence on the Island
Book 8 – Secrets on the Island
Book 9 – Chaos on the Island
Book 10 - Sadness on the Island
Book 11 – Danger on the Island
Book 12 – Evil on the Island
Book 13 – Fire on the Island
Book 14 – Evil on the Island


DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
Book 1-The Beekeeper
Book 2-The Perfect Murder
Book 3-The Backpacker


DS JASON SMITH &DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES
Book 1 - The Enigma
Book 2 – Dropzone
Book 3 – The Raven Girl


THE MIRANDA TRILOGY (psychological thrillers)
Miranda
Mistress
Medusa

STANDALONE NOVELS
Horror - The Divide
Thriller - The Ghostwriter
Thriller – The Guests
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Book 3 of 33
    A DS Jason Smith Thriller
  2. Print length
    362 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    October 29, 2014
  6. File size
    2.1 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
Next slide of product details
Unwell Hydration from Alex Cooper
Hydrate & focus with every sip Shop now

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 33 books in this series.

Customers also bought or read

Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
Next page
Loading...

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00P0OZSAS
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ STILL Books
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 29, 2014
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.1 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 362 pages
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Book 3 of 33 ‏ : ‎ A DS Jason Smith Thriller
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 920 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Stewart Giles

Stewart Giles

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.

In 2013 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.

3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor Cornwall series.

The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.

I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series and was published in July 2018.

After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brings together the brooding, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor. Dropzone followed shortly after and the third in the series, The Raven Girl finished things off.

Miranda is something totally different. What was to be a stand-alone psychological thriller, it is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before. The ending begged for a sequel and, Mistress was born. Medusa completes the Miranda trilogy.

There are now 25 DS Smith books available with many more planned for the future.

I wanted a break from the crime thriller genre so I came up with The Divide - a macabre horror tale of survival, but crime will always be my true love.

A new series featuring Irishman, DI Liam O'Reilly begins with Blood on the Island, and that was followed by ten more mysteries set on the island of Guernsey.

When I'm not writing I love sailing, guitars and jumping out of perfectly good planes. I'm lucky to have a huge lake on my doorstep as well as a world-class skydiving drop zone.

Books by Stewart Giles

DS JASON SMITH SERIES

Book 0.5 -Phobia

Book 1 -Smith

Book 2-Boomerang

Book 3-Ladybird

Book 4-Occam’s Razor

Book 5-Harlequin

Book 6-Selene

Book 7-Horsemen

Book 8-Unworthy

Book 9-Venom

Book 10-Severed

Book 11-Demons

Book 12-Deadeye

Book 13-Motive

Book 14-Australia

Book 15-Wishbone

Book 16-Ghosts

Book 17-The Scarecrow

Book 18-The Bluesman

Book 19-The Librarian

Book 20-The Viaduct

Book 21-The Twin

Book 22-The Dogwalker

Book 23-The Flytrap

Book 24-The Electrician

Book 25-The Cellar

DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES

Book 1-The Beekeeper

Book 2-The Perfect Murder

Book 3-The Backpacker

Trotterdown a box set of DC Harriet Taylor books 1-3

DS JASON SMITH &DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES

Book 1 -The Enigma

Book 2 – Dropzone

Book 3 - The Raven Girl

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLERS

Miranda

Mistress

Medusa

Standalone Horror

The Divide

Standalone Psychological Thrillers

The Ghostwriter

The Guests

DI O'Reilly mysteries

Book 1 - Blood on the Island

Book 2 - Lies on the Island

Book 3 - Fear on the Island

Book 4 - Malice on the Island

Book 5 - Revenge on the Island

Book 6 - Christmas on the Island

Book 7 - Silence on the Island

Book 8 - Secrets on the Island

Book 9 - Chaos on the Island

Book 10 - Sadness on the Island

Book 11 - Danger on the Island

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
920 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book to be a very good read that is exciting from beginning to end.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more

6 customers mention "Reading quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a very good read, with one customer specifically praising the excellent writing.

"A super author with a great balance of personal and professional story-lines. Can’t get enough of this series, they are a must to read." Read more

"This is a book worth reading. The characters are well defined the plot is good. There is adventure, laughs and a storyline that flows steadily." Read more

"I enjoyed reading this book. It took me much longer this time to really figure out who the killer was.. Excellent writing." Read more

"A more enticing title would be good, never the less a very good read" Read more

5 customers mention "Suspenseful"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book exciting from beginning to end, with one customer highlighting its great unexpected twists.

"A super author with a great balance of personal and professional story-lines. Can’t get enough of this series, they are a must to read." Read more

"This is a book worth reading. The characters are well defined the plot is good. There is adventure, laughs and a storyline that flows steadily." Read more

"Some aspects of the storyline pretty clichéd but some great unexpected twists. Generally an absorbing read and I'm keen for the next one." Read more

"Very exciting from beginning to end. When I started reading, I did not want to put it down until the end. It was a gripping, suspense-filled novel." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars You won't be disappointed with this series.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    A super author with a great balance of personal and professional story-lines. Can’t get enough of this series, they are a must to read.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Kindle Customer Mimi Davis-Hopkins
    4.0 out of 5 stars Ladybugs¿
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This is a book worth reading. The characters are well defined the plot is good. There is adventure, laughs and a storyline that flows steadily.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Pat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another good D S Jason Smith thriller. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed reading this book. It took me much longer this time to really figure out who the killer was.. Excellent writing.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Lorraine
    4.0 out of 5 stars Winner
    Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This book gets a four because it was good but not good enough for a five.
    I will definitely look for more from this author.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A more enticing title would be good, never the less a very good read
    Helpful
     Report
  • Kindle Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing escapism
    Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Some aspects of the storyline pretty clichéd but some great unexpected twists. Generally an absorbing read and I'm keen for the next one.
    Helpful
     Report
  • BJones
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very exciting from beginning to end. When I started ...
    Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Very exciting from beginning to end. When I started reading, I did not want to put it down until the end. It was a gripping, suspense-filled novel.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • booklover
    4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Addition to Crime Fiction Series
    Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2018
    Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Jill Burkinshaw for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

    DS Jason Smith is on the verge of handing his badge in at the end of his bereavement leave, when he gets a call from a friend. His friend has been arrested for the murder of a student and wants Smith to investigate and prove his innocence.

    The student was killed with a bread knife and many ladybirds (ladybugs) were left on his body. Intrigued, Smith decides to stay with law enforcement and begins looking into the student's history.

    A day or so later, another man is found dead with ladybirds scattered around his body. In one respect, it proved his friend's innocence as he was behind bars at the time of this man's murder.

    Smith is introduced to Dr. Karen Wood, an Entomologist. As Smith gets drawn closer to this mysterious woman and more and more men wind up dead with ladybirds on their bodies Smith quickly realizes that Dr Wood is not who she seems to be.

    Smith and his team unearth a terrible secret from twenty years earlier; somebody wants justice and, as more and more men die, Smith realizes he is running out of time to find out who.

    This is an excellent addition to a series. Although 5th in the series, it reads easily as a stand alone. As always, I highly recommend starting at the very beginning. The earlier books tell how Jason got to where he is ... and how he has matured since.

    This book is full of twists and turns. I pride myself in guessing the who-dun-its .... but it just didn't happen with this one. The author had me running in circles. I enjoy the characters of Smith, and his partner Erica Whitton. They relate to each other a lot of time with humor. And underneath the laughs, and sometimes sarcasm, I can see how much they support and protect each other.

    I always look forward to this author's books ... lots of action, fast-paced, likeable characters and unique bad guys. And I was not disappointed with LADYBIRD.
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Nora Shakespeare
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting plot.
    Reviewed in Australia on March 13, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Fast and well written
    Report
  • Ginger Book Geek
    5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling but puzzling investigation for DS Smith
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I actually finished reading ‘Ladybird’ a couple of hours ago but it’s only now that I can try to put into words what I feel about it. I don’t mean that in a bad way but there was so much going on in the book that I don’t really know where to start. I absolutely loved, no make that adored reading ‘Ladybird’ which is the third full length novel to feature DS Jason Smith.
    ‘Ladybird’ features a different Jason Smith to the one in the previous two books. He is on sick leave following the horrendous events in ‘Boomerang’, where his partner had her throat slashed. She passed away and as well as having to come to terms with his loss, he felt awful that he wasn’t able to help her. Smith feels a bit disillusioned with the police force and he isn’t sure that he can go back to it. He has had a taste of what normal life feels like. However, something happens to ‘The Ghoul’, who sends out an SOS to his old friend Smith. The saying ‘once a policeman always a policeman’ springs to mind because Smith is unable to resist the temptation of taking part in the investigation and to prove his friend’s innocence. Smith is still the stubborn, determined, nosy police officer that he always has been. If Smith has a gut feeling about a case then he goes with his gut, even if common sense and the evidence say the opposite.
    Bloody hell this was one hell of a dramatic, sometimes gory rollercoaster ride of a read. ‘Ladybird’ is brilliantly written with a superb plot designed to grab your attention from the start. The story hits the ground running and maintains the pace throughout. Reading ‘Ladybird’ become something of an addiction for me. I would pick my Kindle up with the intention of only reading a couple of chapters and then seven chapters later I was still reading. I was so absorbed by the investigation, the author’s writing style and the convincing characters that I didn’t realise just how quickly the page numbers and the time was flying past. Before I realised what was happening I had cleared over half of the book and it wasn’t long until I had finished reading the book. I had mixed feelings about finishing ‘Ladybird’. Don’t get me wrong I was pleased to finish because I knew how the investigation concluded but I was enjoying the author’s writing style, the story, the investigation and the characters so much that I just wanted the book to continue on and on. There were more twists and turns to this story than you would find on a Snakes & Ladders board. Just when you thought that the action had settled down then off the book would go again. I barely had time to collect my breath before the action kicked off again. There were times when I almost had to read through my fingers because I feared what was over the page and how it impacted on Smith and his team. Then I gave myself a kick up the bum because I knew that if I wanted to find out how the story ended. Certain details are rather gruesome but for me, it’s not gratuitous gruesomeness.
    I also loved the fact that ‘Ladybird’ is set in my neck of the woods- the North East of England. Well ok it’s set in York which is on the outer limits of the North East boundary. It was lovely to read about a place with which I am familiar and somewhere I know my way around.
    Oh my word, ‘Ladybird’ is one hell of a read. It’s the third full length book in a series, which just goes from strength to strength and just gets better and better. I wholeheartedly recommend the DS Jason Smith series and the author Stewart Giles to other readers. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.
    Report
  • Al D.
    4.0 out of 5 stars The idea is good.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    The story I found interesting and entertaining.
    The characters I found likeable. The thing I found unacceptable was a very good detective not listening to good suggestions, after all why go to talk to the father when the last victim had all the answers and they could have maybe saved his life. That saying I will look out for more in the series.
    Report
  • Penelope H.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book 3 and the series is getting better
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I love this series and the books get better with each addition. This is a brilliant fast-paced page turner with a unique and very interesting storyline. Even 3.5 books in Stewart is still managing to build interest and depth to the characters. As always there is a small amount of humour intermingled with the twists and turns of the book. The ending is a shocker you wont expect. Another stunning read.
    Report
  • David C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed this book it was interesting and sad that the bad stuff people are capable of can destroy more than one life
    Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report