Chief Inspector Jacobson and DS Kerr had been on leave when the body of a young black man, Darren McGee, had been fished out of the River Crow. The autopsy had pointed to suicide by drowning. But now Darren's cousin, Paul Shaw, is in town: a top-notch investigative journalist with an axe to grind and a claim that Darren had really been the victim of a racially-motivated murder.

Jacobson isn't convinced. But when Paul Shaw turns up as dead and as terminally-wet as his cousin, Jacobson and Kerr are faced with a baffling double-murder to investigate. And a dangerous confrontation lies ahead with the murky world of the Far Right.

"Kerr and Jacobson are a resolutely uncharming pair of policemen who are a pleasure to meet, and who offer hopes for a more rich reading in future additions to the series." - WASHINGTON POST

"Compares favourably with Ian Rankin... a compelling, fast-moving story that leaves the reader wondering where he will go from here." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"has a vivid sense of place... wonderfully characterised." - Andrew Taylor

"Iain McDowall has a superb ear for dialogue... very realistic." - NEW BOOKS MAGAZINE