First published 2016
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks faces pressure from Yorkshire's new police chief to solve a mundane tractor theft quickly. Rural security has become the top priority, and Banks must treat this simple crime with urgency. The case takes a dark turn when two boys from a nearby village disappear. A walker discovers suspicious blood in an abandoned hangar. What seemed like routine property crime transforms into something far more sinister. Banks uncovers a headless corpse, encounters a young woman terrorized by someone impersonating a police officer, and investigates a road accident that reveals disturbing secrets. The investigation shifts from bureaucratic box-checking to a desperate race against time. Banks must navigate departmental politics while pursuing leads that grow increasingly dangerous. Each discovery pulls him deeper into a web of violence that threatens more lives. The detective finds himself fighting not just to solve crimes but to prevent additional deaths as the case spirals beyond anyone's control.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: race-against-time, small-town
Setting: Yorkshire
Period: 21st-century
448 pages · Paperback · Albin Michel Littérature
Content warnings: violence