It's the worst drought in a generation, and the people of Senior Constable Paul Hirschhausen's vast outback beat are suffering. Foreclosures. Failing businesses. Petty quarrels on the brink of escalation.

So when Annika Nordrum asks for help, Hirsch is relieved to feel useful. Her father's body was found at the bottom of a mineshaft six years ago, his death ruled an accident. But her mother hasn't been seen since. As Hirsch starts investigating, more questions arise: why was her father at a long-abandoned gold diggings? What happened to his missing possessions? And who found his dog wandering alone with a bloodstained collar? Tensions are high in Tiverton; can Hirsch find his answers before the town reaches breaking point?

'The equal of Joseph Wambaugh and James Lee Burke' THE TIMES

'A superb chronicler of cop culture' SUNDAY TIMES