When the body of a bookseller is discovered, collapsed in a pool of blood in his Bristolian bookshop, it is immediately clear that he has been murdered. What is unclear is how someone could have met such a violent end in this quiet, peaceful place.

DS Cross is adept at dismissing red-herrings but a worrying development in his personal life has left him hopelessly distracted, leaving his usual means of deciphering evidence challenged.

The world of bookselling is a quiet one, but it is full of passionate and ambitious characters. They know a rare book equals a big payoff – and their extensive reading means they also know the best ways to get away with murder...