The bloated remains of a man are discovered bound to a derelict pier in Orkney and newly promoted DCI Lukas Mahler dispatches a team to investigate. But when the body is identified as Alex Fleming - Mahler's former colleague from his time in the Met - the case becomes personal. Mahler's investigation takes him from his old stamping ground of London to the world of organised crime, and from sixteenth-century witch executions to Fleming's most notorious unsolved case: the 'Witchfinder' murders. Are the runic symbols found with Fleming's body proof the killer's struck again - or is there an even darker story to be uncovered?With pressure mounting from all sides and demons from his own past surfacing, Mahler is faced with the most complex moral decision of his career.
'The Queen of Highland Noir gets spookier and darker with every book' Lilja Sigurdardottir
THE COMPELLING, GOTHIC, BRILLIANTLY ATMOSPHERIC THIRD NOVEL IN THE DI LUKAS MAHLER SERIES
Some cases are personal...
Tied to a derelict pier on Orkney, the bloated remains of a man bob in the waves, under the shadow of forbidding Sandisquoy House. The locals know him as William Spencer.
But DCI Lukas Mahler identifies him as Alex Fleming - his former boss.
Unable to step away from the case, Mahler tries to piece together why Fleming would retire to such a remote location. But the deeper he digs, the more disturbing the investigation becomes.
Seal bones, witches' salve, and runic symbols appear everywhere he looks, ushering Mahler towards Fleming's most notorious unsolved case: the 'Witchfinder' murders. And towards a dark and uncomfortable truth someone has gone to great lengths to bury...
'Margaret Kirk is one of the strongest voices in the current crop of excellent Scottish crime writers' ALISON BELSHAM
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READERS LOVE MARGARET KIRK'S DI MAHLER SERIES:
'A harrowing and horrific game of consequences' VAL McDERMID
'Margaret Kirk's brilliant Inverness series is atmospheric and gripping. She goes from strength to strength. An absolute cracker!' CASS GREEN
'Tartan Noir at its very best' DAILY MAIL
'Harrowing...Be prepared to hear more from Lukas Mahler and his talented creator' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'Dark and compelling' SUN
