‘Effective and moving’ Literary Review

The first in a thrilling new police procedural series set in Scarborough and introducing DC Donna Morris - middle-aged, seemingly ordinary - but hiding many secrets…

Donna Morris has chosen to do her probationary year as detective constable in the small seaside town of Scarborough. But on her first day, a body is found in the woods: the corpse of Henrik Grunttor presents itself as that of a homeless man, dead from his own drug use. However, until recently, Grunttor had been working at the local GCHQ centre on the Russian section and the postmortem reveals the cause of his death to be uncertain.

Now in her early fifties, Donna has her own reasons for wanting to be in Scarborough, ones she would prefer to keep from her colleagues. For she’s not been drawn there by the landscape or the light, or even the beach, but to be closer to her wayward daughter - a daughter serving time in the nearby prison for GBH. Yet beyond even this, Donna hides another secret: she grew up in East Berlin, escaping across the wall in the early 1980s.

Due to the circumstances of her past Donna is drawn to the dead man whose background is not dissimilar to hers… and her persistence reveals there are several people who wanted Grunttor dead – and gathered around him in his final days like a wake of crows…

Praise for Kate Evans

‘Kate Evans delivers a gripping crime debut with a truly original policewoman as the central character. Highly recommended’ Irish Independent

‘Well written and without any flashiness, this believable police procedural deals with guilt, vengeance, love, a serial killer with a God complex and redemption… effective and moving’ Literary Review

‘Read this book’ 5 Stars, Reader Review

‘A rich and rewarding police procedural with a candidly portrayed and memorable central character’ 5 Stars, Reader Review

‘A brilliant read’ 5 Stars, Reader Review