Station Sergeant Barlow needs every ignorant bone in his body to survive against an unknown enemy who is using witchcraft to bring him down. An old adversary of Barlow is murdered during a witchcraft ceremony involving group sex. Then a second man is killed with Barlow's own pistol. In both cases Barlow cannot supply an alibi. All of which delights District Inspector Harvey because if Barlow doesn't hang he'll spend the rest of his life in jail.

Meantime, rain falls and the water in the rivers rise until, like Barlow's troubles, they overflow. His daughter, Vera, won't speak to him because he has a girlfriend, the girlfriend dumps him because she thinks he is two-timing her and Barlow's old army friends, Edward Adair and Geordie Dunlop, are relying on him to get them out of trouble over a stolen lorry-load of whiskey. Even a spot of gardening puts Barlow in the hospital, fighting for his life.

PRAISE FOR BARLOW

A masterclass of evocative and inventive writing – New York Journal of Books The character of the Station Sergeant is a joy and if McAllister does not bring us more of his adventures the crime genre will be a poorer place for it – The Sunday Times A winning mixture of grumpiness, generosity, kindness and above all honesty – Crime Fiction Lover McAllister’s stripped down, straightforward prose exquisitely captures the feel of a bygone era and the down-to-earth people who inhabited it – Elizabeth A White Syndication By the second page it had grabbed my complete attention – Irish American News A welcome return to good old-fashioned storytelling…. this is an excellent read with thoroughly credible characters and a perfect mixture of darkness and light – Crime Fiction Lover Poignant sequel…. entertaining – Publisher’s Weekly Barlow is here to stay – Shots Magazine The terrible things you do to that poor man – Luisa Stevano (Italian translator)