Meet Kent’s Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman. She’s given everything to rise to the top. She’s menopausal, overworked — and the only one who can crack this impossible case.

‘In Cutler, we are undoubtedly dealing with the crème de la crème.’ The Times

Please note, this book was previously published as Life Sentence. Months from retirement, Detective Fran Harman should be winding down and planning her move to the seaside. Instead, her boss — a dear friend who’s fast becoming something more — hands her the most baffling cold case of her career. The victim is dubbed Elise. She was found by a road, battered beyond recognition. A passing man tried to resuscitate her. She’s been lying in a hospital bed ever since. Visited by the man who gave her the kiss of life. He was the prime suspect, but he has a cast-iron alibi. With doctors about to switch off Elise’s life support, Fran will stop at nothing to get justice for her. But how much can one woman handle?

And in a case where nothing — and no one — is what they seem, Fran will need to watch her back.