This series follows the life of Frank Elder, a former police officer from Nottingham who retires to the tranquil coastal town of Cornwall. Despite seeking a peaceful life, his past and a persistent drive for justice continually draw him into new investigations. The narratives blend compelling detective work with profound character studies and a reflective look at aging and legacy.
Following his wife's betrayal and his own retirement from the force, Detective Inspector Elder has fled as far as it is possible to go in England without running out of land. But he is haunted by the past and in particular by the unsolved disappearance of 16-year-old Susan Blacklock back in 1988.
When the take-down of a violent criminal goes badly wrong, something doesn't feel right to Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch, and her uneasiness is compounded by her belief that someone is following her home.
The third DI Frank Elder novel, from the master of British crime writing. It's clear to Elder that this is the work of the same unbalanced individual and, to find the killer, Elder must shine a light into the darkest recesses of human behaviour, the dark and twisted recesses of a disturbed human mind.
When his estranged daughter Katherine appears on his doorstep, ex-Detective Frank Elder knows that something is wrong. Katherine has long been troubled, and Elder has always felt powerless to help her. But now she has begun to self-destruct. The breakdown of her affair with a controversial artist has sent her into a tailspin that culminates in murder. And as Elder struggles to protect his daughter and prove her innocence, the terrors of the past threaten them both once more...