Author:Frank Lean
When student Meg Hands is found drowned in a Manchester canal, the authorities are only too anxious to classify her death as yet another sad result of alcoholic overindulgence. Her mother, Ruth, an internationally celebrated charity worker, is not so willing to accept this verdict.
Frustrated in her attempts to interest the police, she turns to Dave Cunane, Manchester's last resort of the hopeless. Dave is unwilling to probe but tentative enquiries reveal a hidden world of vice behind the fashionable screen of Manchester's free and easy drinking scene.
At last, a real rival for Ian Rankin's Rebus
—— Middlesborough Evening GazetteTense and tightly plotted
—— GuardianThis is American crime thriller writing at it's rocket-fuelled, roller-coaster best
—— Daily Mail (for Where the Dead Lay)Professional-grade actioner
—— Kirkus ReviewsEnjoyable, hard-boiled stuff, with what's probably a bad-guy first - a psychotic, foul-mouthed Welshman.
—— SunAn astonishing talent
—— Jeffery DeaverA deeply unsettling debut that asks the most terrifying question - what do you have left when you lose yourself?
—— Val McDermidA truly amazing debut. The central character, Christine, is beautifully drawn. It's hard to imagine a more compelling, believable and sympathetic portrayal of a damaged human being. I loved it from start to finish
—— Mo HayderPart-bodice-ripper, part-slasher, the book's elaborate plot moves along at a brisk clip with a nod to the likes of Sarah Waters and Peter Ackroyd
—— Daily MailA sure-footed evocation of seamy Victorian London
—— The Sunday TelegraphA sinister picture of a country, and protagonist, on the brink of hysteria
—— PsychologiesAs crowded with sensation as a Victorian parlour with furniture
—— The ScotsmanA spider's web of a plot and a spine-tingling atmosphere of menace and suspense
—— The TimesMesmerising, elegant and compelling
—— The LadyThis spine-tingling novel… will certainly keep your nerves jangling
—— Woman's WeeklyAn excellent ghost story...magnificently eerie...compulsive reading
—— Evening StandardShe writes with great power, authentically chilling
—— Daily TelegraphOne of the most popular British ghost stories of modern times
—— Observer