An errant crisp packet is all that stands between DI Alex Scrimgeour being murdered on his way to work. Who would want Alex dead? Or was it perhaps a case of mistaken identity? If the bullet wasn’t meant for Alex, then who was it meant for and why?
Alex’s journalist daughter, Kate, newly in his life and now happily settled in the same city, is obsessed with finding out more about a spate of apparent teenage suicides in the city. What do the deaths have in common, if anything? And who are the two mysterious ‘friends’ claiming that some of the teenagers were suicidal despite their families believing otherwise?
Despite pressing domestic issues, Kate can’t let the matter go, plunging her into a potentially dangerous situation.
When his would-be killer turns up dead, Alex is forced to look further back into the past to discover what motivated the shooting. Who is behind the vendetta? Can they be stopped before the next attempt is more successful?
Review:
This is my first book By Maureen Myant and though I have started this series part way through I quickly worked out what was happening and was able to follow it easily.
What I loved the most about the story through was the two story lines Alex’s and Kate’s so while for example Alex is awaiting results Kate’s story comes into play. Which uses the “spare” timeline up and your not waiting like the police for results!
Though I must admit when Alex got ill, I was worried he’d been poisoned, but it seems like it was just the flu phew!
I loved the other character’s in this book, the young people just doing what they need to do to survive and how Kate goes out her way to try and help them. Then there’s the character’s in Alex’s storyline and the reason he’s getting shot at which I found to be a really good twist in the tail. Who’s have thought it? No spoilers here I’m afraid.
An engaging story that kept me turning the pages till the end!
Maureen Myant has a PhD and MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow. She is the author of the Glasgow Southside crime series featuring DS Nicholson and DI Scrimgeour. They are published by Hobeck Books. Although they can be read as standalone novels they are best read in sequence. The Confession was published in 2022, followed by The Deception (2023) and The Shame (2024) The fourth in the series, The Fallen, will be published in Autumn 2025. She is currently writing the fifth book. A standalone psychological drama, What Lies Beneath was published by Hobeck Books in November 2024. Maureen is also the author of a historical novel, The Search, which is set in wartime Czechoslovakia, Poland and Germany. A former psychologist, Maureen lives in Glasgow.
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