First published 2025
Sebastian Pallander's death should have made his family rich. The billionaire left behind a fortune and a Scottish castle in the Cairngorms. Instead, his will delivers a crushing blow. His relatives receive almost nothing while mysterious beneficiaries claim the real money. Then Sebastian's eldest son dies under suspicious circumstances. DI Salt and DS Blackstock arrive to investigate what looks like murder. The detectives uncover a chilling pattern. Someone appears to be systematically killing the people named in Sebastian's will. Each death moves the killer closer to claiming the entire inheritance. Salt and Blackstock race to identify the murderer before the next victim falls. The case forces them into a world where family bonds crumble under the weight of greed and betrayal.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cairngorms, Scotland
Period: 21st-century
400 pages · Paperback · Penguin (Transworld)
Content warnings: death, murder