The murky Essex tide is rising and so is the body count . . .

When a body is found hanging under Southend Pier, Detective Edison Kane knows this is more than just a murder. It’s a reckoning.

The victim, wealthy entrepreneur Adam Golding, was dead long before the killer tied a noose around his neck, then strung him up for all to see.

This scene’s been staged with brutal precision. But who would go to the trouble . . . ?

The answer might be too close for comfort.

Golding’s head for business made him a millionaire several times over — leaving his wife to pay the price. How many nights did she spend waiting up for Adam, before she finally got wise to his lies?

Then there’s Adam’s estranged brother, Tony. It’s been years since Adam sold him out. But old grudges die hard . . .

Both had means and motive. Who is guilty of the ultimate crime?

Just as Kane’s closing in on his prime suspect, a second body washes up on the shores of lonely Two Tree Island.

And the victim’s identity changes everything.

An atmospheric, edge-of-your-seat thriller that’s perfect for fans of Simon McCleave, Ann Cleeves, Cath Staincliffe, Elly Griffiths and C.J. Grayson.