A hugely complex and entertaining novel - Star Pick*, The Times Crime Club

Elizabeth George delivers another intelligent, intricate mystery - New York Times

Superlative . . . This is a memorable addition to [the Inspector Lynley] series - Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)

Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers and Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley are back in the next Lynley novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Elizabeth George.

A Nigerian born detective sergeant working for the Metropolitan Police is found unconscious in her own flat and ends up in hospital where she dies of her injury. The post-mortem reveals that the subdural hematoma is the result of a blow to her head. DI Thomas Lynley, DS Barbara Havers and DS Winston Nkata are called in to investigate a case that touches upon not only the work and the life of the murdered detective but also upon a controversial cultural tradition that damages and often destroys the future of everyone it involves.

"Superlative . . . This is a memorable addition to [the Inspector Lynley] series" - Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)

"Abso-bloody-lutely" good! That would be DS Barbara Havers' verdict on this one. . . . An unsettling and thoroughly involving narrative - Booklist

"A skillfully spun yarn of murder and mayhem" - Kirkus Reviews

"A hugely complex and entertaining novel" - Star Pick*, The Times Crime Club

"It feels like meeting old friends and that you're almost solving the crime together" - Belfast Telegraph

"A superbly written, complex but challenging read" - Peterborough Telegraph

"A well-plotted, fast-paced mystery" - Women's Weekly

"Expert pacing, plotting and the creation of psychologically convincing characters...make this well worth reading. Elizabeth George has been the recipient of a very number of prestigious awards for her writing...this new work, which engages with much darkness but finds some hope, might well gain her more" - Irish Examiner

"What George does so well is to create full portraits of those affected by her chosen theme" - New York Times