Murder in Northumbria (DI Pen Darling #1)

Previously published as In the Family

He built an empire on fear. Now his murder threatens to tear it apart.

Barry Dance is found dead in his remote farmhouse, a gun in his right hand. But former mob leader ‘The Dancer’ didn’t shoot himself — this was an execution.

Dance was a man people loved to hate. He might have turned his back on organised crime, but as the ruthless head of a property empire he still spread fear among business associates — and fuelled resentment among his own family.

Detective Pen Darling knows the murder bears all the hallmarks of a professional hit. Now she must return to Newcastle’s murky criminal underworld to catch the killer.

As she follows the trail from glittering city offices to the bleak moors, she uncovers secrets Barry Dance thought he had buried for good. Secrets someone is still willing to kill for.

Can she expose the truth before another life is taken?