Laying Out the Bones: A riveting and twisty cold case mystery

'Absolutely brilliant plotting' ANN CLEEVES

'Gloriously atmospheric' ELLY GRIFFITHS

A TERRIBLE CRIME WAITS TO BE UNEARTHED

A long, hot summer in Wiltshire is broken by a sudden downpour. Flash floods bring something sinister to the surface - a human skeleton. When forensic testing matches the bones to a man named Lee Geary, reported missing nine years earlier, the case is passed to DI Matt Lockyer.

Geary was a known drug user, so it could be a simple case of misadventure, but Lockyer isn't so sure. Geary was a townie, and had learning disabilities, so what was he doing out on the Plain all alone? Lockyer soon learns that the year he disappeared, Geary was questioned in relation to another crime - the murder of a young woman named Holly Gilbert.

With the help of DC Gemma Broad, Lockyer begins to dig deeper, and discovers that two other persons of interest in the Holly Gilbert case have also either died or disappeared in the intervening years. A coincidence? Or a string of murders that has gone undetected for nearly a decade?

The second twisty and atmospheric Wiltshire-set crime novel in the DI Lockyer Series. Perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves and Val McDermid.