'The Queen of Highland Noir gets spookier and darker with every book' Lilja Sigurdardottir

THE COMPELLING, GOTHIC, BRILLIANTLY ATMOSPHERIC THIRD NOVEL IN THE DI LUKAS MAHLER SERIES

Some cases are personal...

Tied to a derelict pier on Orkney, the bloated remains of a man bob in the waves, under the shadow of forbidding Sandisquoy House. The locals know him as William Spencer.

But DCI Lukas Mahler identifies him as Alex Fleming - his former boss.

Unable to step away from the case, Mahler tries to piece together why Fleming would retire to such a remote location. But the deeper he digs, the more disturbing the investigation becomes.

Seal bones, witches' salve, and runic symbols appear everywhere he looks, ushering Mahler towards Fleming's most notorious unsolved case: the 'Witchfinder' murders. And towards a dark and uncomfortable truth someone has gone to great lengths to bury...

'Margaret Kirk is one of the strongest voices in the current crop of excellent Scottish crime writers' ALISON BELSHAM

'Deliciously dark and pulse-pounding' HELEN FIELDS

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READERS LOVE MARGARET KIRK'S DI MAHLER SERIES:

'A harrowing and horrific game of consequences' VAL McDERMID

'Margaret Kirk's brilliant Inverness series is atmospheric and gripping. She goes from strength to strength. An absolute cracker!' CASS GREEN

'Tartan Noir at its very best' DAILY MAIL

'Harrowing...Be prepared to hear more from Lukas Mahler and his talented creator' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'Dark and compelling' SUN