When the Bough Breaks
by David Mark

Traffic cop Sal Delaney’s past is catching up with her . . .

Sunday Times best-selling author David Mark delivers a pulse-pounding new dark and gritty police procedural series set in the north of England, with a complex, intriguing female protagonist.

North of England. Cumbria. Salome Delaney didn’t have a great start in life. But her abusive childhood came to a tragic conclusion with the killing of her tyrant mother, Trina, by a jealous ex-boyfriend. At least, that’s what the police say. Sal has never believed kind Wulf, who tried to protect her from her mother’s dark side, could have committed such a crime, but the evidence was irrefutable . . . and who else could have done it?

Now an adult, with a good job as a Collison Investigation Officer, Sal’s done her best to put the past behind her. But one snowy morning she’s called to an accident scene, and she recognizes the body – Barry Ford, the man her mother left Wulf for, all those years ago.

It soon becomes clear this wasn’t just an accident – it was murder. And Wulf, now out of prison, lives very close by . . .

The question of who really killed her mother has haunted Sal her whole life, but as she launches a complex investigation, which gets darker by the hour, she starts to wonder if she really wants to know the answer after all.

Reviews

“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

“Masterfully plotted”

Kirkus Reviews

“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

“Polished prose, lovable recurring characters, and a stunning revelation make this a mystery to savor”

Kirkus Reviews Starred Review of Past Life

“A fine police procedural . . . Ian Rankin fans will be pleased”

Publishers Weekly on Past Life

“[Mark is] on the level of Scottish and English contemporaries such as Denise Mina, Val McDermid, and Peter Robinson

Library Journal Starred Review of Cruel Mercy

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.

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Editions

When the Bough Breaks by David Mark is available in the following formats

Hardback97814483119964th June 2024150 X 220mm240$29.99
Hardback97814483119964th June 2024150 X 220mm240£21.99
Ebook97814483120094th June 2024N/A240$24.99
Ebook97814483120094th June 2024N/A240£20.99
Paperback978144831715826th August 2025138 X 216mm240$18.99
Paperback978144831715819th June 2025138 X 216mm240£13.99
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