by Manda Scott
First published 2002
Detective Inspector Orla McLeod's undercover operation collapses in violence, leaving her partner Luke Tyler dead and nine-year-old Jamie Buchanan as the only witness to brutal killer Tord Svensen. Jamie saw Svensen's face during a cold-blooded murder, making him the key to identifying one of Europe's most dangerous criminals. Orla spirits the orphaned boy away from Glasgow to a remote cottage beneath Scottish mountains, hoping the Highlands will keep them safe. But Svensen tracks them down. Orla carries childhood trauma from her own violent past, and guilt over surviving when Luke didn't. She made promises to both Luke and Jamie that she intends to keep. Now she faces a predator who kills without hesitation, while protecting a vulnerable child who holds the evidence that could bring Svensen down. In the isolated cottage, Orla must use every survival instinct against a hunter who knows the game as well as she does.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, protector
Setting: Glasgow, Highlands, Scotland
320 pages · Hardcover · Bantam
Content warnings: child-death, graphic-violence, murder, violence