Discover Eric Ward, policeman turned lawyer. Over one million books read!

‘Filled with page-turning suspense plenty of twists and turns and some cracking characters.’ Bolton Evening News

Past and present explode into murder.

A counter-terrorist organisation stops the murder of a French politician in the Pyrenees. The would-be assassin is killed at the scene. He has a disturbing tattoo on his arm.

Eric Ward meets Ben Shaw at a bankers’ dinner. Ben hires him to look into his old rival and Ward’s ex-wife’s probable new lover, Jason Sullivan. Jason’s disappeared and so has the money for a project he was working on.

DCI Spate is looking into illegal immigration in Newcastle. He speaks to Peter Olinger, local construction magnate, who seems a little shady and has large gambling debts. What’s he hiding?

What connects the three strands is very dark and dangerous indeed.

This gripping, well-crafted mystery is perfect for fans of Peter James, Ruth Rendell, P.D. James and Peter Robinson.

Please note this book was first published as Embers of the Dead.

THE DETECTIVE

Eric Ward is forced to retire from the police when he discovers he suffers from glaucoma. He qualifies as a solicitor (lawyer) and sets up his practice on the Quayside in Newcastle, where he deals with the seamier side of the law. When he marries a wealthy young woman she attempts to persuade him to settle in Northumberland and work with wealthier clients but he stubbornly refuses to give up his criminal practice in Newcastle. Although she draws him into the world of high finance he still insists on continuing at the Quayside — which causes tensions within his marriage, and leads to fatal consequences.