First published 2014
Sergeant Hamish Macbeth knows his job is on the line. Budget cuts threaten police stations across the Scottish Highlands, and Detective Chief Inspector Blair sees the perfect chance to eliminate his longtime nemesis. Blair dispatches Cyril Sessions, an eager young officer, to the remote village of Lochdubh with orders to document every detail of Macbeth's daily routine. Macbeth catches wind of the surveillance scheme and decides to put on a show for his unwanted observer. He plans to ensure Sessions returns to headquarters with glowing reports of industrious police work. But the plan goes catastrophically wrong when Sessions turns up dead. Now Macbeth finds himself the primary suspect in a murder investigation. The very man who wanted to destroy his career has handed him the perfect motive. Macbeth must clear his name while navigating the treacherous politics that put him in this position. In a case where his professional survival depends on proving his innocence, the stakes have never been higher.
Genres: mystery, crime, detective, police
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, professional-rivalry
Setting: Lochdubh, Scottish Highlands
Period: Contemporary
272 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing