October 1940. The London borough of West Ham is in the grip of yet another night of bombing, and undertaker Francis Hancock is in the grip of yet another night of temporary insanity.

A veteran of World War One, Francis is forced by the nightly air raids to relive the trauma of the trenches, and all he can do is try to outrun the horrific flashbacks. So when he sees a man lurching through the rubble, screaming about being stabbed but with no visible wound, Francis dismisses it at the ravings of another lost soul... until the man's body turns up at his funeral parlour, two days later. Suspecting foul play, Francis feels compelled to discover what really happened that night - but he finds himself pitted against violent thugs, an impenetrable network of lies and his own fragile sanity.

The first in a brilliant crime series set during the Blitz from the wonderful Barbara Nadel, also author of the hugely popular Turkish crime novels featuring Inspector Cetin Ikmen

About the Author
Trained as an actress, Barbara Nadel used to work in mental health services. Born in the East End of London, she now writes full time and has been a visitor to Turkey for over twenty years. She received the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger for her novel DEADLY WEB, and the Swedish Flintax Prize for historical crime fiction for her first Francis Hancock novel, LAST RIGHTS. To find out more, follow Barbara on Twitter @BarbaraNadel or visit her website www.barbara-nadel.com

Reviews
Praise for Barbara Nadel's previous novels: An unusual and very well written first novel...Although the murder mystery is intriguing, it is the characters who make this book so successful * Sunday Telegraph *
Ikmen will go far...will have you looking over your shoulder * Scotsman *
Exciting, accomplished and original * Literary Review *
My crime reader is raving about this author * Bookseller *
A thriller that presents a Middle Eastern city populated by human beings, rather than specimens of oriental exotica, and a British writer who can get inside a foreign skin * Independent *
Mixing Ikmen's police work with parapsychology, blood and intuition makes for a read that is as riveting as it is undeniably disturbing * Good Book Guide *
Idiosyncratic and evocative * The Times *
Full of complex characters and louche atmosphere * Independent *



Book Information
ISBN 9780755321360
Author Barbara Nadel
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Headline Book Publishing
Publisher Headline Publishing Group
Weight(grams) 184g
Dimensions(mm) 178mm * 115mm * 24mm