THE CHALK MAN

MEET DETECTIVE RUTHERFORD BARNES IN THIS BRILLIANT BRITISH CRIME SERIES FROM A SERVING POLICE OFFICER, PACKED FULL OF TWISTS.

Barnes finally has the family he always longed for. But someone is coming for them . . .

Detective Barnes crouches down by the body near the seafront. Male, mid-twenties. The face is blue-white, mouth stretched open in a silent yawn.

Suddenly his eye is caught by an abrupt movement. A woman has fallen over on the pavement opposite. ‘Looks like someone’s feeling crook,’ says Howlett, his detective constable.

Then Barnes sees another person collapse nearby. A young man, fit. He hasn’t tripped. His body starts to convulse on the ground.

As panic spreads through the crowd, Barnes’s mobile rings. It’s Tamsin, his normally unflappable partner.

‘Barnes . . .’ She sounds frantic. ‘It’s . . . it’s Maggie.’

Barnes goes cold. ‘What about her?’

‘She was supposed to be at rugby practice. But she never showed up. She’s . . . she’s missing.’

His stepdaughter is missing — and Barnes has a very bad feeling about who might be responsible . . .

Perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, Helen H. Durrant, Peter James, Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk or J.M. Dalgliesh.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE DETECTIVE BARNES SERIES:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Packed full of unexpected twists and turns.’ Sheila M.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Pulled me in and held me to the end.’ Dawn T.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Cracking good police story. Complex and twisty.’ Joan

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Very good and gripping.’ Kay C.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Some really convoluted twists and turns. I loved it.’ Rob

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Excellent sense of place, strong characterisation . . . authentic and detailed police procedure, and a thrilling denouement’ Oliver T.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A real page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ Mike B.

THE DETECTIVE
DI Rutherford Barnes is no longer the ambitious, idealistic young police constable he was when he joined the force. Ten years with the police has left him world-weary and a touch cynical. He’s a dedicated police officer, although he’s made mistakes, ruffled too many feathers during the course of his career — and is no longer on the fast track to promotion. No one has ever been brought to justice for the murder of his wife, and it remains a constant running sore.

THE SETTING
Set against the picturesque landscape of the South Downs, the Sussex seaside town of Eastbourne is packed with tourists during the summer — but it can seem pretty dismal during the winter months. Only fifty-odd miles from London, the town is not immune to the violence which occasionally spills over from the city. Pockets of deprivation and criminality exist alongside reminders of Eastbourne’s more genteel past in the grand Victorian hotels that line the seafront, the pier and the bandstand. The town also boasts one of Britain’s best-known — and most infamous — beauty spots, Beachy Head.

THE AUTHOR
Adam Lyndon has been a serving UK police officer for more than twenty years, working across a range of disciplines including uniformed ops, firearms command and as a detective in CID and specialist investigations.