'A fast-moving thriller. I was totally absorbed by it' ELLY GRIFFITHS
'Vivid and compelling, with great evocation of the 1980s period' PETER JAMES
'A masterclass in place and landscape' CHRISTIE WATSON

PERFECT FOR FANS OF PETER JAMES AND STUART MACBRIDE.


January 1983, Blackwater Estuary

A new year brings a new danger to the Essex shoreline. An illicit shipment, bound for Colchester - 100 kilograms of powder that will frantically accelerate tensions in the historic town, and leave its own murderous trace.

Detective Inspector Nick Lowry, and his fellow officers Daniel Kenton and Jane Gabriel must now develop a tolerance to one another, and show their own substance, to save Britain's oldest settlement from a new, unsettling enemy.

"The smell of the marshes permeates every page . . . This is old-style policing set in an interesting period, and it's an encouraging start to what is likely to be an engaging series." - Daily Mail

"Brilliantly engineered police procedural." - Daily Mirror

"A fast-moving thriller with strong characters, dark humour and a terrific sense of place. I was totally absorbed by it." - Elly Griffiths