DI Frank Lyle is about to investigate the most emotionally harrowing case of his career to date. He just doesn't realise it yet...

1982 - . A teenage girl's body is discovered on a deserted canal towpath. Lyle struggles to balance work and the demands of his embittered ex-wife, Sarah, but he is getting no closer to finding the killer. Then the wrong man is arrested and dies in custody.

1987 - Lyle is still haunted by his failure to solve the case. Then the victim's father asks him to reinvestigate. A second murder occurs. Working reluctantly with newly promoted DI Simon Ward, Lyle and his team cover old and new ground. But when the killer is finally unmasked can Lyle deal with the shocking truth of his identity?

This revised edition contains a taster excerpt from Heir to Misfortune, the second DI Frank Lyle Mystery.