by Hugh C. Rae
First published 1972
Rain pounds the hospital driveway as a sports car spins to a halt outside a small town near Glasgow. The driver vanishes into the woods, leaving behind the corpse of the community's most prominent citizen's son, killed by a heroin overdose. Superintendent McCaig leads the local police into their first encounter with hard drugs, hunting for the dealer who brought death to their quiet community. The investigation peels back layers of respectability to expose bitter romances, sexual secrets, and addiction. McCaig discovers that beneath the town's peaceful surface lies a web of people desperate for power and status. The case forces the community to confront an uncomfortable truth: progress carries darkness alongside its benefits. As McCaig closes in on the pusher, he must navigate the dangerous currents of a place that has never before faced such corruption.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: dark-underbelly, investigation, secrets
Setting: Glasgow, Scotland
Period: 20th-century
317 pages · Hardcover · Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use