First published 2017
DCI Daley receives a journal from Inspector William Urquhart, his wartime predecessor in Kinloch. The journal details a brutal stabbing that occurred near the harbor as the Second World War drew to a close. Meanwhile, the postman on Gairsay island makes a disturbing discovery at the Bremner farm. The family has vanished without explanation, leaving behind a warm meal and signs of interrupted daily life. Daley teams up with DS Brian Scott and their new superior, Chief Superintendent Carrie Symington, to investigate the connection between these events. The case pulls them into the hidden history of Gairsay island, where decades-old secrets threaten to destroy lives in the present. Daley must untangle the truth behind the wartime killing to understand what happened to the Bremners and why the past refuses to stay buried.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, suspenseful
Tropes: cold-case, hidden-history, past-present-connection
Setting: Gairsay, Kinloch
Period: Second World War
400 pages · Paperback · Polygon