A Killing Tree

Escape to the country? Escape to murder... When a hiking group finds a very dead body at a local beauty spot, D. I. Zig Batten begins to regret his transfer from urban Yorkshire to not-so-sleepy Somerset. Is it a coincidence that the victim worked for the vast private estate of Wake Hall - home of a shifty horse-sales business run by a slap-happy Northern adversary and his crew? What exactly is being transported in the horse-boxes that trundle in and out of Wake Hall? And what is the role of the maverick Lady Wake? Batten strives to find out, while juggling liaison with the Greek police, escalating thefts, and tensions within his new team. His daydreams, the victim's past, and the increasingly complex real world produce as many questions as answers, until - against a backdrop of Christmas celebrations - the human cost of crime reaches tragic heights. Reluctantly, Batten must fly to Greece to seek a solution... A January Killing, the second book in the series, is available now, and book 3, An Easter Killing will be published in 2016.