Gallows Drop

Description

At dawn on a lonely stretch of road, a body is found hanging from an ancient gallows the morning after a country show. Hours earlier, DCI Kate Daniels had seen the victim alive. With her leave period imminent, she's forced to step aside when DCI James Atkins is called in to investigate. There's bad blood between them. When Kate discovers that Atkins' daughter was an eyewitness to a fight involving the victim, the two detectives lock horns and he's bumped off the case. It's the trigger for a vicious attack on Kate, exposing a secret she's kept hidden for years and unearthing an even darker one. Shaken but undeterred, Kate sets out to solve a case that has shocked a close-knit village community. As suspects emerge, she uncovers a curious historical connection with a hangman, a culture of systematic bullying, a web of deceit and a deep-seated psychosis, any one of which could be motive for murder.

Mari Hannah is an award-winning author whose authentic voice is no happy accident. A former probation officer, she has contributed to CID training for Northumbria Police and lives in rural Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective. Mari turned to scriptwriting when her career was cut short following an assault on duty. Her debut, The Murder Wall (adapted from a script she developed with the BBC) won her the Polari First Book Prize. Its follow-up, Settled Blood, picked up a Northern Writers' Award. She went on to be shortlisted for the Dagger in the Library and is currently Reader in Residence for Harrogate International Crime Writing Festival.

Nobody understands the many faces of cops better than Mari Hannah -- Val McDermid They're just great reads -- Stephen Fry on the Kate Daniels series Brutal and engaging. Mari Hannah writes with a sharp eye and a dark heart -- Peter James DCI Kate Daniels: a Northerner to join the roster of top literary detectives * The Times * [A] terrific page-turner that's dark and twisting * Woman and Home * Let's cut to the chase. This is as good as a modern British crime thriller gets * Peterborough Telegraph * Hannah is a clever, gifted writer, treading a fine line between Kate's complex and compelling private life and unravelling our intrepid detective's multi-layered murder mysteries, all packed with intrigue, rollercoaster emotions, unpredictable plotlines and down-to-earth realism * Lancashire Evening Post * Mari Hannah has developed her characters to a fine degree, involving the reader in their lives and relationships, which adds much to the clever plotline * Choice Magazine *