On a warm June night, a woman in a white summer dress jumps out of a parked car in the lonely Essex countryside.
Behind her as she walks away, she hears the car’s engine start and the crunch of tyres as it begins to move.
Trudy Thornton continues walking, expecting the car to drive away in the opposite direction. Instead, she realises, it’s coming along the lane towards her.
As she turns, shielding her eyes against the glare of the headlights, the driver revs the engine and accelerates.
Her body is found on the A12. Detective Millson recognises immediately that this isn’t an ordinary hit-and-run.
And the postmortem shows something else: Trudy was two months pregnant.
THE SETTING
From picturesque villages to posh yacht clubs, from bustling seaside towns to unspoiled riverside homes, Essex is full of surprises, beauty, and the occasional murder.
THE DETECTIVES
In his late thirties, Detective Chief Inspector George Millson is unhappily divorced with a daughter he doesn’t see enough, especially after his ex–wife remarried and moved to Birmingham. Not the neatest of men, he’s a damn-good detective.
Red-headed Detective Sergeant Norris Scobie is twenty-eight and smartly turned out. He joined George Millson a year ago on transfer from the Met. ‘Don’t ever call me guv’nor!’ Millson had bellowed on their first day together. ‘Schools and prisons have governors.’