Vale of Tears - (Sal Delaney Mystery) by David Mark (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Northumberland traffic cop Sal Delaney must keep her head in the game to solve a complex murder with dark motives in this pulse-pounding, gritty police procedural by Sunday Times bestselling author David Mark.

'Mark is a superbly gifted writer' Booklist Starred Review

You can be so fascinated by demons and the afterlife that you don't notice the monsters all around you.

Northumberland. Collision Investigation Officer Sal Delaney is at a road traffic accident scene near the infamous Bael Hill Farm - locally labelled the Murder House - when a body is discovered at the lot.

It turns out local hermit Rollo Savage took his own life, but something doesn't add up. At first glance he seems to have hanged himself, but other evidence hints at murder.

Rollo's past earned him a lot of enemies, but who would hurt the kind old man after all these years? Soon Sal is caught up in another twisted and dark case, one which shockingly seems to involve people she holds dear . . .

For fans of David Mark's critically acclaimed DS McAvoy Mysteries as well as readers of Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Denise Mina and Peter Robinson.

Review Quotes

For fans of dark, depraved, shiver-inducing horror stories with plenty of diabolical
twists

-- "Booklist on Don't Say a Word"

[Delivers] the kind of grisly torture and murder scenes that have rightly linked his work with that of Val McDermid-- "Booklist on Blind Justice"

A dark, creepy, twisted mystery that will keep readers awake far into the night-- "Booklist Starred Review of The Burning Time"

A hair-raising procedural [that] highlights unselfish love, sacrifice, and man's inhumanity to man-- "Kirkus Reviews on Blind Justice"

An involving, nail-biting police procedural from a masterful storyteller-- "Kirkus Reviews on Flesh and Blood"

An irresistibly charming detective cracks another colorful case-- "Kirkus Reviews on The Burning Time"

An outstanding read for those who like their crime thrillers gritty, graphic, and gripping-- "Booklist Starred Review of Past Redemption"

Mark is a superbly gifted writer who creates a bleak, unforgiving setting, deeply damaged characters, and a plot that ramps up the violence, tension, and suspense to an almost unbearable level before an explosive ending that will leave readers utterly shattered-- "Booklist Starred Review of When the Bough Breaks"

Masterfully plotted-- "Kirkus Reviews on When the Bough Breaks"

Urgent, rhythmic prose and incisive character portraits . . . Compulsively readable-- "Kirkus Reviews on Don't Say a Word"