There's no point screaming - we've only just begun . . .
It's not going well for NE Division: half the force is off sick, all leave's been cancelled, someone's firebombed a migrant hostel and there's a massive climate change protest march happening this Saturday. With officers dropping like flies, Detective Inspector Logan McRae has to kick off a major murder investigation with a skeleton staff of misfits, idiots and malingerers - AKA: DS Steel's team - until the top brass can arrange backup from other divisions.
But as bad as everything seems, there's something far more sinister lurking in the heat-haze of a sweltering Aberdeen summer: something that's been building for years. Something that longs to sing its horrible song . . .
And it's clear that things are going to get much, much worse before this is over.
Praise for Stuart MacBride:
'Dark and brilliantly written' Linwood Barclay
'MacBride is a damned fine writer' Peter James
'Crime fiction of the highest order' Mark Billingham