The third book in the critically acclaimed DI Marjory Fleming series.

'Underscores Templeton's challenge to Ian Rankin in Scottish thriller writing.' Peterborough Evening News

'Not for Templeton gruesome bodies strewn across the landscape left and right, here the emphasis is on character, motive and situation, building into an impressive whole. I'm sure it won't be long before I have to write "the best-selling Aline Templeton". This is seriously good crime writing.' Sue Baker, 'Personal Choice', Publishing News

On a beautiful, eerily quiet May morning in a remote corner of Scotland, a girl is found brutally bludgeoned to death, the silence of the scene broken only by the ringing of her mobile telephone.

DI Marjory Fleming thrives on the adrenalin and tension that come with heading a major crime investigation, but with the discovery of not one, but two murdered corpses on her patch, she's about to feel the pressure like never before . . .

The community of Drumbreck - a tranquil weekend playground for rich Glaswegians - is small and close-knit. But the veneer of contented prosperity conceals nasty secrets and daily betrayals. DI Fleming must watch her own back as she searches for a link between the two crimes. Uncovering layer upon layer of intrigue and deceit, Fleming is about to learn that while the dead can't tell lies, the living most certainly can . . .