The Trauma Pool

"Truly excellent. Terrific stuff. Tight, interesting and dark." Dexter Petley

DI Will Ashcroft saved a boy from drowning in the London Docklands. But the incident still haunts him.

Now Ashcroft is back in the Pennines, where he started out.

There has been a murder - and a twelve-year-old boy is missing.

The deeper Ashcroft delves into the crimes, the clearer it becomes that he cannot solve the cases on his own.

Samira Byrne is a black police officer, battling against prejudice both in and outside the force. Yet she is smart and tenacious - and becomes an ally.

Faced with incompetent superior officers, witnesses who are withholding information, and the suspicious behaviour of the missing boy's parents, Ashcroft and Byrne must risk everything to unravel secrets the valley has been keeping for over ten years.

Can Ashcroft outrun his past long enough to solve the cases?

Recommended for fans of Ian Rankin, Peter James and Mark Edwards.

John Kennedy has been shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger and the Exeter prize. The Trauma Pool is his first novel.