[Honey Laird 01] • Cold Relations

Detective Sergeant Honey Laird has finally cleared her overflowing desk and is looking forward to spending some time with her husband, but it seems that’s not to be: an email arrives from an old school friend which begins yet another difficult investigation.

Honey finds herself trying to babysit her friend’s ex-husband Andrew: a trigger-happy former SAS officer with a temper, a head injury and a penchant for attractive women. When Andrew’s prized Springer spaniel pups go missing after a grouse shoot at a Borders castle, Honey is left with no clues. That is, until Henry Colebrook, a wealthy supermarket mogul, also mysteriously disappears . . .

Honey must delve into the dangerous world of shooting and interview a cast of suspicious characters, including an irritable soldier, a rugged publican, an angry father and an old hermit. Then there’s the curious love-triangle between some of the locals that should be looked into . . . But when Henry Colebrook’s body turns up in an isolated loch, Honey’s investigation takes a serious turn.

Gerald Hammond’s thrilling new novel introduces a slew of unforgettable characters, led through the complex twists and turns by the delightful Honeypot and her trusty crime-solving Labrador, Pippa.

Praise for Gerald Hammond:

‘With a pace and style comparable to Dick Francis, Hammond weaves another deeply absorbing mystery’ – Tangled Web

‘Ingenious, spattering its target with doses of dry wit’ – Sunday Times

‘Original and immensely entertaining’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Straight aim at the target of coherent story-line and convincing action’ – Daily Telegraph

‘Clever writing, a unique plot and a proven author’– Library Journal

‘Hard to put down’– Booklist**

Gerald Hammond is a retired architect and the creator of the mystery series featuring John Cunningham, a dog breeder in Scotland, and Keith Calder, a gunsmith. He also writes under the pseudonyms Arthur Douglas and Dalby Holden.