“I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for anyone who loves a good British police mystery.” Ileana

LONGLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE!

Meet your next favourite Scottish detectives: DI Colin Anderson and DS Winifred ‘Freddie’ Costello.

Roberta’s six-week-old hasn’t been sleeping all week. He finally drops off in the car. She nips into the shop. She’ll be 30 seconds, max.

But when Roberta returns, the unthinkable has happened.

Her baby is gone.

But he’s not only gone, he’s been replaced. With someone else’s baby.

DCI Anderson and DI Costello are on the case. But then a five-week-old goes missing from her mum’s tiny flat. And it looks like she never even lived there. Plus, her mother is nowhere to be found . . .

THE DETECTIVES

DI Colin Anderson: A well-qualified graduate with true Scottish grit. He’s calm, efficient and focused — despite his marriage falling apart, and the fact that he’s just a tiny bit in love with the boss’s wife.

DS Winifred “Freddie” Costello: Pithy, sometimes crabbit (as they say in Glasgow), Costello is incredibly capable, but not above pushing boundaries when needed. She’s a well-respected officer who always puts police work first. She’s had a crush on DCI McAlpine for many years now, but that doesn’t stop her getting the job done.

THE SETTING

Drizzly, grey Glasgow and its seedy backstreets along with up-and-coming new estates is the setting for this gritty series. The realities of poverty and crime are laid bare — with the underfunded police department trying to keep the damn from breaking.