It is a beautiful scene. Out on the lake the lightest of breezes ruffles the water and causes the reeds to stir with a dry, rustling sound. It would take a keen-eyed person to notice the drifting movements of a human hand among the vegetation near the water's edge...
The dark blue BMW parked nearby belongs to Patrick Gillard. The body of the undeniably murdered man looks uncannily like Patrick Gillard. But Detective Chief Inspector James Carrick cannot bring himself to believe that his friend is dead. So it is a considerable relief when Gillard's mother identifies her other son, Lawrence.
It's a clear case of mistaken identity. Patrick is an agent of one of those government departments responsible for national security known by a number: a number synonymous with secrets and danger. Patrick knows things, he represents a threat to certain people. Poor Lawrence, he was a recently divorced, slightly down-at-heel and disorganised teacher, struggling to raise his two children on his own, but loved by everyone who knew him. Carrick is sure that Patrick was the intended victim, but the job demands he make a thorough investigation. A quick probe in to Lawrence's life is called for, just to clear the ground for the main inquiry.
What he discovers takes Carrick by surprise - and leads him into an investigation with more twists and dangerous undercurrents than any he has encountered before...
Margaret Duffy is married and lives with her husband Gordon and two cats near Tavistock, in Devon. She has written ten previous thrillers, including Dressed to Kill, Prospect of Death and Music in the Blood, all available from Piatkus and all featuring James Carrick.
Archaeologist Neil Watson's dig at a Merchant's house in the West Country port of Tradmouth uncovers two bodies of a woman and a child, both strangled. Meanwhile, his old university friend, Detective Sergeant Wesley Peterson, Tradmouth's first black local police officer, is investigating the brutal murder of a young woman on a cliff path and searching for a missing toddler.
As more information is uncovered, these deaths, centuries apart, seem strangely and tragically linked by age-old motives of jealousy, sexual obsession and desperate longing.
Wes thought that Devon might be a rest cure from the fast pace of the Met, but the pressure is on if he is to prevent a further tragedy.
Kate Ellis was born and brought up in Liverpool and studied drama in Manchester. Kate has worked in teaching, marketing and accountancy and first enjoyed literary success as a winner of the North West Playwrights competition. Keenly interested in medieval history and 'armchair' archaeology, Kate Ellis likes to combine historical crime with present day investigation. Kate lives in North Cheshire with her husband and two young sons. Her second novel, The Armada Boy, is published by Piatkus.
Keith Ablow
Denial
Keith Ablow
