A place of execution

A riveting psychological thriller from the Number One bestselling Queen of crime fiction - Val McDermid. <p>In the Peak District village of Scardale, thirteen-year-old girls didn't just run away. So when Alison Carter vanished in the winter of '63, everyone knew it was a murder.</p> <p>Catherine Heathcote remembers the case well. A child herself when Alison vanished, decades on she still recalls the sense of fear as parents kept their children close, terrified of strangers.</p> <p>Now a journalist, she persuades DI George Bennett to speak of the hunt for Alison, the tantalizing leads and harrowing dead ends. But when a fresh lead emerges, Bennett tries to stop the story - plunging Catherine into a world of buried secrets and revelations.</p> <p>'This book changed everything I thought I knew about crime fiction' Belinda Bauer, bestselling author of Snap</p> <p>'Every now and then, a writer transforms the landscape of the literary canon: Val McDermid is one such writer' Fiona Cummins, bestselling author of Rattle</p> <p>'Just mesmerizing' Joseph Knox, bestselling author of Sirens</p> <p>'A brilliant book' Holly Watt, award winning author of To the Lions</p> <p>'From the first pages, we know we're in the hands of a master ' Jeffrey Deaver</p> <p>'Beautifully written' Daily Telegraph</p> <p>'One of the best detective stories I've read' Ruth Rendell</p> <p>'Possibly the best McDermid has written' Sunday Telegraph</p>