'These Benson and de Vere stories are unputdownable... A five star bravura performance. This writer gets better and better' A.N. Wilson

The Hither Green murder...

William Benson knows what it's like to be accused of something you didn't do - the fear, the vulnerability and the nightmare of watching your life unravel. Now he speaks on behalf of those who have no voice, defending anyone who claims to be innocent. This time, it's Karmen Naylor, estranged daughter of a south London crime boss, fighting a murder charge and desperate to be believed. But Benson becomes trapped into a grudge match between two rival clans, endangering himself and those he loves.

Tess de Vere is by Benson's side but she's keeping something from him. A stranger on the trail of a secret death squad operating in Northern Ireland during the Troubles brings a terrible secret into the heart of her own life. And he won't go away.

Can Tess and Will find their way through all the secrets and the lies? Should justice always be served - and if so, at what cost?

Praise for the Benson and de Vere series

'Assured storytelling and highly intriguing moral complexity. I tore through it' Chris Brookmyre

'The courtroom scenes are brilliant, and Benson really comes alive under pressure. Stubborn, fitful and contradictory, he's a highly individualised creation' Spectator

'Punchy dialogue and devious plotlines . . . compelling' The Times