Discover a bestselling series of murder mysteries set in south Yorkshire. One million books read!

A detective who's no angel despite his name . . .

Meet Detective Inspector Michael Angel. An old-school policeman who sometimes rubs his colleagues up the wrong way. He's got his flaws, but he never gives up on a case.

A killer at a quiet country club.

A masked man, dressed all in black, bursts into the club to confront a young couple. He says, 'Your time is up. That girl is mine.' Then he kills one of them.

Witnesses cannot agree on the straightforward matter of identifying the killer. Detective Angel's investigation appears doomed.

Angel is faced with multiple dead ends, station politics and a terrifying local crime family who will stop at nothing to protect their own.

With the appointment of the new, ambitious and aggressive Superintendent Strawbridge, Angel is deeply troubled and has only his instinct to rely on.

Witness intimidation leads to another body washing up in the river.

Risking his own life and withholding lines of enquiry from his cagey superior, everything is at stake for the Inspector as he seeks justice.

Gangsters with scores to settle, crooked police and mentally unstable young men preying on glamorous women in the town.

Can Angel work it all out in time and walk away unscathed?

Perfect for fans of R.D. Wingfield, Colin Dexter, Peter Robinson, Reginald Hill, and Agatha Christie.

Please note this book was first published as Sham.

THE DETECTIVE

Michael Angel is over fifty, married to Mary. They don't have any children. They are a devoted couple but the relationship sometimes breaks down due to his job or due to the problems of Mary's sister who lives in Edinburgh and imposes on their easygoing natures. Michael works at the small local police station and is devoted to defeating crime, murder, and dishonesty of any sort and has no personal ambition beyond being a good husband and a successful detective. He doesn't want promotion with all the routine office work and stress that goes with it. He is incorruptible but always short of money.

THE SETTING

Bromersley is a market town at the bottom of the Pennines surrounded by stone and hawthorn-edged fields grazed by cattle and sheep. It is cold as anywhere in the winter but its closeness to the mountains protects it from many gales and heavy falls of snow. The town's industry today includes the manufacture of ball bearings and whisky bottles, and a huge brewery produces Bromersley's best bitter, which is considered the finest beer for miles around. Wednesday is market day, and the town centre is host to the frequent cries of stall-holders hawking their wares while the enticing smells of cheeses, coffees, foreign spices and fish and chips tempt your taste buds as you wander through the stalls.

PRAISE FOR ROGER SILVERWOOD:

'Solid plotting, unpretentious writing, thoroughly reliable entertainment.' Morning Star

'A cast of characters you really want to populate with familiar faces of actors you see each week on TV - great fun. Angel is terrific.' Books Monthly

'Once again Silverwood combines a classic mystery plot with well-developed characters.' Publishers Weekly