ALREADY DEAD

Another page-turning story set in the Peak District of Derbyshire from internationally bestselling, CWA Dagger-winning Stephen Booth

It's a wet summer in the Peak District, and the officers of Derbyshire's E Division CID have a problem. A body is discovered lying in shallow water after torrential rain falling for weeks has swollen the rivers and flooded the roads, making travel difficult and forensic examination impossible. And that's not their only trouble. The loss of Detective Sergeant Ben Cooper, on extended leave since a traumatic incident in an arson attack, has left a serious gap in E Division's resources. With DS Diane Fry a reluctant temporary replacement, and DC Gavin Murfin a disruptive influence with his retirement and a Caribbean cruise beckoning, it's no wonder that young DCs Luke Irvine and Becky Hurst are feeling rebellious. But their makeshift team is about to be tested to the limit. The fatal events of one damp August night are likely to stay shrouded in mystery if they can't track down a car glimpsed only as a dark outline in the rain by a passer-by. And then there's the victim... could he really have nothing in his life to suggest a motive for murder? Did he have no wife, no partner, no girlfriend, no close relationships at all, as his elderly mother insists? And was that passer-by really just passing? At night, on a road closed by rising flood water? Did some unknown connection lead to Glen Turner being found naked and drowned in a stream? Or was this just some random killing? As the rain turns into a deluge, and mudslides shut more of Derbyshire's byways, loyalties among the officers of E Division will be put under intolerable strain. Because some of them have an even bigger question pressing on their minds right now – where on earth is Ben Cooper? Stephen Booth is the internationally bestselling, CWA Dagger-winning author of twelve acclaimed thrillers featuring Cooper and Fry. The series is in development as a TV programme. Booth lives in Nottingham.