Tainted Ground

The "creatively plotted British mystery" that pits the married pair of sleuths against a killer—and against their best friend (Booklist).

Novelist Ingrid Langley is worried about her husband Patrick Gillard. Since retiring from the army, his search for a new job—and a new purpose—has fallen short. But thing turn around when a fast-track program places him on the local police department. It would be a perfect arrangement if not for the fact that Patrick has suddenly become the superior of his longtime friend, Det. Chief Inspector James Carrick. And as professional jealousy threatens to divide them, a ghastly triple murder occurs.

All three victims were strung up by their feet in an abandoned barn, and clues are scarce. But when a coffin is disinterred from a local cemetery, the forensic evidence shows that both crimes are bizarrely connected.

Now, as Patrick and James race to find the killer and prove who's the better cop, it's up to Ingrid to try and keep the peace between them. But the killer doesn't care which man comes after him—because whoever comes closest to solving the case will be the next to die . . .