Cold Light of Death

July, 1976 – Thames Valley, UK. Long, scorching days of blue skies, water shortages, and record temperatures. A newly promoted Detective-Sergeant is tasked with investigating the murder of a local shop owner – an investigation that goes tragically wrong...

Fast-forward forty-five years to 2021, when a chance discovery exposes a grim secret that forces a reexamination of the circumstances surrounding the ill-fated murder inquiry.

DCI Brendan Moran is assigned this coldest of cases, and it soon becomes apparent that he is dealing with a cold and calculating criminal mind. Can Moran and his team piece together the events of that long forgotten summer and unmask the killer before history repeats itself?

If you like Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, DCI Banks, Vera and the Shetland TV series, you'll love this tense and exciting crime novel from CWA-shortlisted author, Scott Hunter.

REVIEWS - The DCI Brendan Moran Crime Series

★★★★★ ‘…a sparkling mystery – the highlight of a strong series.’

★★★★★ '... a well-planned, well-written novel. The writer has a fertile imagination and an attractive narrative style.'

★★★★★ '... one of the best reads I have had this year. Gripped by the grizzled Irish detective.....plenty of twists and turns. Bravo!'

★★★★★ ‘The story rattles into action and concludes with two jaw-dropping climaxes and a final fraught decision. This series is destined for greatness.’

Scott Hunter was born in Romford, Essex. His writing career was kick-started after he won first prize in the Sunday Express Short Story Competition. He divides his time between writing and drumming. He has recorded with internationally renowned rock band 'Jethro Tull' and appeared in concert with 70's popsters 'Mungo Jerry'. He is currently working on his fifteenth novel and has recently published 'In the Key of Death', number ten in the popular DCI Brendan Moran crime series. The first five books in the series have also been released in audiobook format. He was long listed for the Times/Chicken House Children's Novel Competition for 'The Ley Lines of Lushbury' and won the Sunday Express Short Story Competition a few years back for his historical entry set in the English Civil War. His second novel, 'The Trespass' is a top 20 Amazon Bestseller. He was shortlisted for the 2016 Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Margery Allingham short story competition, and was selected as the winner of the 2022 Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Margery Allingham short story competition. His winning entry, 'Locked In' can be read via the CWA Website's Margery Allingham page. Scott Hunter lives in Berkshire with his wife Katherine and his two youngest children.