As Cold as Charity (en Inglés) - Simon Magorian

'Mrs Beckett had a talent for cultivating enemies the way other women cultivate weeds.'

When Diana Beckett is found slain before hosting a party for her nephews, the community of Lower Denton is shocked. Diana Beckett was a hard-nosed businesswoman and had made enemies. This is a small town where a teenager, Jennie Beasley, went missing some years before. After Diana Beckett's body is found, another woman goes missing, and the community is on edge. The local police are unhappy at DCI Barclay and his team being "parachuted" in.

This is to be a high-profile case, and journalists descend on the town. Charles Mangrove of the Daily Herald arrives and clearly has his sights set on getting Barclay's scalp.

There seems to be an opening in the Jennie Beasley case. Barclay's instincts are to reopen it, but he's been warned against it. The officer in charge of the previous enquiry has been forced to take early retirement. It becomes clear that the chief constable, Sir Kier Greville, has similar plans for Barclay.

People fear there is a maniac on the loose.

Then another woman goes missing...

The follow-up to the first DCI Barclay novel, The Voice of the Sea.