In the heat of a blistering summer, Aberdeen’s police are struggling: half the force is off sick, all leave has been cancelled, someone’s firebombed a hotel full of migrants, and there’s a massive protest march happening this Saturday.

With officers dropping like flies, Detective Inspector Logan McRae is forced to juggle cases and run a major murder investigation with a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots and malingerers until the top brass can arrange back-up from other divisions.

It doesn’t help that the Aberdeen Examiner has just been bought by Natasha Agapova, a tabloid media tycoon, hell-bent on blaming local police for everything. And she’s more than happy to fan the flames.

But, as bad as everything seems, it’s all about to get much, much worse . . .

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About the author

Stuart lives in the wilds of northeast Scotland with his wife Fiona; cats Gherkin, Onion, and Beetroot; some hens; some horses; and an impressive collection of assorted weeds.