Number one bestseller and queen of crime Val McDermid returns with her most breathtakingly atmospheric and exhilarating novel yet.       

‘Somebody has been here before us. And he’s still here …’       

When a body is discovered in the remote depths of the Highlands, DCI Karen Pirie finds herself in the right place at the right time. Unearthed with someone’s long-buried inheritance, the victim seems to belong to the distant past – until new evidence suggests otherwise, and Karen is called in to unravel a case where nothing is as it seems.       

It’s not long before an overheard conversation draws Karen into the heart of a different case, however - a shocking crime she thought she’d already prevented. As she inches closer to the twisted truths at the centre of these murders, it becomes clear that she’s dealing with a version of justice terrifyingly different to her own …       

‘Another stellar read from McDermid, and further evidence that her  Queen of Crime  status will not be challenged’ Scotsman       

‘There is nothing more gratifying than watching a master craftswoman at work, and she is on fine form here’ Observer       

‘A compulsively readable tale’ Irish Times