DI Adam Fawley

Self-defense or murder? In the continuation of one of Britain's most popular crime series from Cara Hunter—the author of the instant New York Times bestseller Murder in the Family—DI Fawley returns to determine if someone has staged a crime scene in connection with another homicide from years past. Midnight. A grisly murder scene at an isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford. A man lies dead in the kitchen—shot point blank. The farm's elderly owners claim the shooting was self-defense against a burglar. But something about the crime scene doesn't sit right with DI Adam Fawley, whose gut tells him there's more to their story. If the victim came to rob the house, why wasn't he wearing gloves or carrying tools? Why didn't the owner of the house call the police right after the shooting? Why did his wife wash his blood splattered clothes immediately? Digging deeper, the police realize this is no ordinary burglary gone wrong. There's an unmistakable link to an infamous case from years earlier involving a child's murder and an alleged miscarriage of justice. When the news leaks out, the press goes wild. Suddenly Fawley's team are under tremendous pressure to crack the case—and to bring one formidable criminal to justice.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok sensation Murder in the Family and the DI Adam Fawley series comes a brand new gripping crime thriller about a figure from his past… When Nick Vincent, producer of true-crime show Infamous, hears about an explosive new angle on a high-profile case – the 2016 murder of an eight-year-old girl in Oxford – he leaps at the chance to send a researcher to verify the claims. Two months later, a dog walker discovers a woman's body, bound and buried in a shallow grave in the woods. Forensic evidence links it to the disappearance of that same child. DCI Adam Fawley, the original investigating officer, is called in to run the enquiry. And he remembers the case well – he arrested the child's mother for murder. A murder he now knows she didn't commit. The investigation raises more questions than answers. What connects the two crimes? Where has the dead girl been all these years? How did she manage to disappear? For Adam Fawley, this is personal... "Twist follows twist at a breathtaking pace." - Daily Mail (UK) "Confirms her place in the front rank of British crime writers." - Sunday Times (UK) "Utterly compelling." - Nicci French "Twist follows twist at a breathtaking pace." - Daily Mail (UK) "Hunter has rejuvenated the form." - Financial Times "Riveting." - Shari Lapena "So twisty, so timely, so terrific." - Nicci French "This cleverly constructed mystery offers a full complement of surprises and loads of fun for clue-seeking readers… Hunter keeps the pacing lively and the cliffhangers plentiful. Armchair sleuths will savor this brisk and immersive puzzle." - Publishers Weekly