Description

‘SUPER-SMART AND HIGHLY ORIGINAL’ – Doug Johnstone
‘BRILLIANT AND DEEPLY EVOCATIVE’ – Graham Bartlett
‘AN EXCITING START TO A NEW SERIES’ – Patricia Gibney
‘A WRITER AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME’ – Robert Rutherford

The first in a Newcastle-set police procedural series with a twist. DCI Jack Parker has a secret. He has Early Onset Dementia and he will do anything and everything to keep it hidden from his peers and the criminals he’s investigating.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING. THERE’S NO ESCAPE.

DCI Jack Parker has faced down hardened villains and raving, drug-addled lunatics. He’s disarmed a machete-wielding psychopath and broken devastating news of a loved one’s death more times than he can remember.

With a serial killer stalking the Newcastle streets and one of his closest colleagues lying in the mortuary following a hit and run he thinks things are about as tough as they’ve ever been. But he should know that trouble always comes in threes.

Jack is about to face the biggest challenge of his life, one that will end his career and destroy his family: Early Onset Dementia.

As he does everything he can to hide his deteriorating condition from his family and colleagues, Jack believes that the serial killer is haunted by his childhood while his own memories are built on increasingly shifting sands.

The race against time to save lives, including his own, has begun.

Whilst staying within the realms of the police procedural genre, this cracking thriller will explore character in depth and with sensitivity, as well as with the author’s trademark dark humour.

Publisher Review

A super-smart and highly original police thriller, written with huge heart * Doug Johnstone, author of The Space Between Us * A brilliant and deeply evocative novel. The wonderful storytelling and perfectly drawn characters will have you rooting for the new detective on the block * Graham Bartlett, author of the Jo Howe series * Thoroughly enjoyable … it zipped along. An exciting start to a new series … can’t wait to read more of Jack and the team * Patricia Gibney, author of the Detective Lottie Parker Series * Top-notch cop thriller, with a full cast of compelling characters, … a sterling detective novel made into something much more. A clear stand-out in a saturated genre * Dominic Nolan, author of Vine Street * One of the best hooks for a novel I’ve seen this year, and artfully executed by a writer at the top of his game. An absolute masterpiece of teasing tension that’ll drag you by the scruff of the neck to the very last page * Robert Rutherford, author of Seven Days * His best yet. Dark humour, a warm heart, a chilling crime – riveting * Sarah Moorhead, author of The Treatment * A colourful cast of characters, plenty of witty repartee and a neat set up for the next in the series. A proper page turner – I raced through the book * Fiona Erskine, author of The Chemical Detective * Such a great story, so cleverly written. Taut, tender and full of very human twists. This is the start of something big * William Shaw, author of The Wild Swimmers * Once again Trevor Wood has come up with a brilliant, unique protagonist and created a funny, gripping, twisty page turner for the start of what is destined to be a hit series * Charlotte Levin, author of If I Let You Go * A brilliantly original take on the police procedural – I loved it! * Sam Holland, author of the Major Crimes Series * Crime fiction at its very best – the keep-you-guessing story is peopled with characters you can’t help caring about. A superb start to this intriguing series * Frances Quinn, author of The Bonesetter Woman * With great characterisation, humour and a cracking plot … that rare thing – a page turner with heart. I thought I had it all figured out – I was so wrong! * Eleni Kyriacou, author of The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou * Weaves together an incredibly clever plot with a beautiful, soulful story. An absolutely magnificent book * Victoria Dowd, author of The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder * Another masterclass … a police procedural with one hell of a twist. Wood once again comes at crime from an unexpected and utterly compelling angle * Tom Benjamin, author of A Quiet Death in Italy * A brilliantly original concept … the same humour and warmth between the characters that I loved so much in his previous novels. Can’t wait for a sequel! * Nikki Smith, author of The Beach Party * Has all the ingredients which make Wood one of my favourite crime novelists – instantly compelling characters, grit, a gripping plot, twists and turns I didn’t anticipate, all mixed with a huge dollop of heart. The start of what promised to be a delicious new crime series * Louise Fein, author of People Like Us *