‘An outstanding series’ – NEW YORK TIMES

Detective Inspector Bill Slider and his team investigate the tragic death of a young woman in the twenty-fifth entry in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ critically acclaimed crime series.

Rhianne Morgan, just eighteen, waiting for her A-level results, lies dead in her comfortable middle-class home in a nice, respectable area.

Neighbours remember rows with her stepfather. Schoolmates talk of a disgruntled ex. Her bestie mentions an unnamed new boyfriend, who possibly provided her with drugs. But the back gate was open, and anyone could have walked in. Did she even know her assailant?

Secrets and lies flourished around this troubled teenager, a thicket of thorns Bill Slider and his team must cut through to find the truth . . .

Written with Cynthia Harrod-Eagles’ signature sharp plotting and dry wit, this hard-hitting character-driven mystery is a must-read police procedural for fans of Mick Herron, Ann Cleeves and Peter Robinson.

Praise for the Bill Slider series:

‘Slider and his creator are real discoveries’
Daily Mail

‘Sharp, witty and well-plotted’
Times

‘Harrod-Eagles and her detective hero form a class act. The style is fast, funny and furious – the plotting crisply devious’
Irish Times