Description

Book Synopsis
A woman lies dead in a bombed-out house. A tragic casualty of the Blitz? Or something more sinister? Sixty years later, the detective's daughter unearths the truth... From the number 1 bestselling author of The Detective's Daughter. LONDON, 1940 Several neighbours heard the scream of the woman in the bombed-out house. One told the detective she thought the lady had seen a mouse. Another said it wasn't his business what went on behind closed doors. None of them imagined that a trusting young woman was being strangled by her lover. TEWKESBURY, 2020 Beneath the vast stone arches of Tewkesbury Abbey, a man lies bleeding, close to death. He is the creator of a true-crime podcast which now will never air. He was investigating the murder of a 1940s police pathologist – had he come closer to the truth than he realised? Stella Darnell has moved to Tewkesbury to escape from death, not to court it. But when this man dies in her arms, Stella, impelled to root out evil when she finds it, becomes determined to hunt down his killer and to bring the secrets he was searching for into the light... Praise for The Detective's Daughter series: 'Lesley Thomson gets better and better' Ian Rankin 'Cunningly plotted' Mick Herron 'One of the most original characters in British crime fiction... Thomson's plots are original and she draws her characters with genuine affection' Sunday Times 'In the best traditions of the classic whodunnit, this is Midsomer Murders for grown-ups' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express 'Gloriously well-written... Thomson creates a rich and sinister world that is utterly unique' William Shaw

Trade Review
This is her best novel to date; it is not only a complex mystery, full of strange characters – many of whom meet at a talking-shop called the Death Café – but also a sensitive exploration of grief * The Times *
The Distant Dead is a little different from others in this absorbing series, but in many respects it's just the same – as well as those characters, and plenty of sinister atmosphere, it's a cracking good read, with plenty of twists and turns.The Detective's Daughter gets better and better – and I'm sure she'll be back! * Promoting Crime Fiction *
PRAISE FOR LESLEY THOMSON: 'One of the most original characters in British crime fiction... Thomson's plots are original and she draws her characters with genuine affection' Sunday Times. 'In the best traditions of the classic whodunnit, this is Midsomer Murders for grown-ups' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express. 'Lesley Thomson gets better and better' Ian Rankin. 'A clever mystery plot... Its excellence is in the characters, all credible and memorable' Literary Review. 'Gloriously well-written... Thomson creates a rich and sinister world that is utterly unique' -- William Shaw

The Distant Dead

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    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Sat 27 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Lesley Thomson

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      Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
      Publication Date: 14/10/2021
      ISBN13: 9781788549776, 978-1788549776
      ISBN10: 1788549775

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      A woman lies dead in a bombed-out house. A tragic casualty of the Blitz? Or something more sinister? Sixty years later, the detective's daughter unearths the truth... From the number 1 bestselling author of The Detective's Daughter. LONDON, 1940 Several neighbours heard the scream of the woman in the bombed-out house. One told the detective she thought the lady had seen a mouse. Another said it wasn't his business what went on behind closed doors. None of them imagined that a trusting young woman was being strangled by her lover. TEWKESBURY, 2020 Beneath the vast stone arches of Tewkesbury Abbey, a man lies bleeding, close to death. He is the creator of a true-crime podcast which now will never air. He was investigating the murder of a 1940s police pathologist – had he come closer to the truth than he realised? Stella Darnell has moved to Tewkesbury to escape from death, not to court it. But when this man dies in her arms, Stella, impelled to root out evil when she finds it, becomes determined to hunt down his killer and to bring the secrets he was searching for into the light... Praise for The Detective's Daughter series: 'Lesley Thomson gets better and better' Ian Rankin 'Cunningly plotted' Mick Herron 'One of the most original characters in British crime fiction... Thomson's plots are original and she draws her characters with genuine affection' Sunday Times 'In the best traditions of the classic whodunnit, this is Midsomer Murders for grown-ups' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express 'Gloriously well-written... Thomson creates a rich and sinister world that is utterly unique' William Shaw

      Trade Review
      This is her best novel to date; it is not only a complex mystery, full of strange characters – many of whom meet at a talking-shop called the Death Café – but also a sensitive exploration of grief * The Times *
      The Distant Dead is a little different from others in this absorbing series, but in many respects it's just the same – as well as those characters, and plenty of sinister atmosphere, it's a cracking good read, with plenty of twists and turns.The Detective's Daughter gets better and better – and I'm sure she'll be back! * Promoting Crime Fiction *
      PRAISE FOR LESLEY THOMSON: 'One of the most original characters in British crime fiction... Thomson's plots are original and she draws her characters with genuine affection' Sunday Times. 'In the best traditions of the classic whodunnit, this is Midsomer Murders for grown-ups' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express. 'Lesley Thomson gets better and better' Ian Rankin. 'A clever mystery plot... Its excellence is in the characters, all credible and memorable' Literary Review. 'Gloriously well-written... Thomson creates a rich and sinister world that is utterly unique' -- William Shaw

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