“I thought I had it all figured out and was totally wrong . . . a gem of a book that you can’t put down!” —Goodreads reviewer, five stars

How do you catch a killer if you can’t identify the victim? A scene of crime officer collects the evidence piece by piece in this gritty British mystery.

SOCO Maya Barton is called to a canal where a heavily decomposed male body has been discovered. A bank card belonging to Trevor Dawlish is found in the cadaver’s pocket, and the name matches that of a missing person.

All seems straightforward—until Trevor’s wife phones the police to say that Trevor has returned home, leaving Maya and the team wondering who the unknown male is.

When it’s revealed that the male was dead before he entered the water, Maya finds herself with a murder on her hands. But when another body is discovered, the case becomes further complicated. The hope is that facial reconstruction of the first victim will help solve the mystery—but it may lead Maya and her team down an even darker path.

Praise for the Maya Barton series:

“Bendelow proves her experience as a SOCO makes for a brilliant novel . . . stunning.” —Lynda La Plante, Edgar Award–winning author of Prime Suspect