A young girl's mutilated body is discovered in a sealed room. Her remains are carefully arranged, in what seems to have been a cruel and macabre ritual, which appears to have taken place over 60 years ago. For newly appointed Edinburgh Detective Inspector Tony McLean this baffling cold case ought to be a low priority.

The dead don't always rest in peace . . . Discover the gripping Richard and Judy pick, and first thriller in the bestselling Inspector McLean series

From the Sunday Times bestseller comes an electrifying crime thriller for fans of Ian Rankin, Peter James and Stuart MacBride

Edinburgh is horrified by a series of bloody killings.

Deaths for which there appears to be neither rhyme nor reason, and which leave the city's police stumped.

DI Tony McLean is focused on the investigation, but his attention is drawn by a chilling cold case:

A young girl, ritualistically murdered.

Her remains hidden for sixty years.

It seems impossible that there could be any connection between the cases, but McLean starts to wonder . . .

Because if it's true, they might be facing an evil beyond anything they ever imagined.

Praise for James Oswald:

'Crime fiction's next big thing' Sunday Telegraph

'Oswald is among the leaders in the new batch of excellent Scottish crime writers' Daily Mail

'The hallmarks of Val McDermid or Ian Rankin: it's dark, violent, noirish' Herald

'An excellent start to what promises to be a fine series' Guardian

'The new Ian Rankin' Daily Record