Vale of Tears
by David Mark

Northumberland traffic cop Sal Delaney must keep her head in the game to solve a complex murder with dark motives in this pulse-pounding, gritty police procedural by Sunday Times bestselling author David Mark.

‘Mark is a superbly gifted writer’ Booklist Starred Review

You can be so fascinated by demons and the afterlife that you don’t notice the monsters all around you.

Northumberland. Collision Investigation Officer Sal Delaney is at a road traffic accident scene near the infamous Bael Hill Farm – locally labelled the Murder House – when a body is discovered at the lot.

It turns out local hermit Rollo Savage took his own life, but something doesn’t add up. At first glance he seems to have hanged himself, but other evidence hints at murder.

Rollo’s past earned him a lot of enemies, but who would hurt the kind old man after all these years? Soon Sal is caught up in another twisted and dark case, one which shockingly seems to involve people she holds dear . . .

For fans of David Mark’s critically acclaimed DS McAvoy Mysteries as well as readers of Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Denise Mina and Peter Robinson.

Reviews

“Urgent, rhythmic prose and incisive character portraits . . . Compulsively readable”

Kirkus Reviews on Don't Say a Word

For fans of dark, depraved, shiver-inducing horror stories with plenty of diabolical
twists

Booklist on Don't Say a Word

“Mark is a superbly gifted writer who creates a bleak, unforgiving setting, deeply damaged characters, and a plot that ramps up the violence, tension, and suspense to an almost unbearable level before an explosive ending that will leave readers utterly shattered”

Booklist Starred Review of When the Bough Breaks

“Masterfully plotted”

Kirkus Reviews on When the Bough Breaks

“An outstanding read for those who like their crime thrillers gritty, graphic, and gripping”

Booklist Starred Review of Past Redemption

“A dark, creepy, twisted mystery that will keep readers awake far into the night”

Booklist Starred Review of The Burning Time

“An irresistibly charming detective cracks another colorful case”

Kirkus Reviews on The Burning Time

“An involving, nail-biting police procedural from a masterful storyteller”

Kirkus Reviews on Flesh and Blood

“A hair-raising procedural [that] highlights unselfish love, sacrifice, and man’s inhumanity to man”

Kirkus Reviews on Blind Justice

“[Delivers] the kind of grisly torture and murder scenes that have rightly linked his work with that of Val McDermid

Booklist on Blind Justice

David Mark

David Mark spent seven years as crime reporter for the Yorkshire Post and now writes full-time. The first novel in his DS McAvoy series, Dark Winter, was selected for the Harrogate New Blood panel (where he was Reader in Residence) and was a Richard & Judy pick and a Sunday Times bestseller. Dead Pretty was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger in 2016. He is also the author of the Sal Delaney police procedurals and a number of standalone thrillers. He lives in Northumberland with his family.

View author page

Editions

Vale of Tears by David Mark is available in the following formats

Hardback97814483193812nd June 2026144 X 222mm240$29.99
Hardback97814483193812nd June 2026144 X 222mm240£21.99
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