No crime can stay secret forever, can it?

When a suspicious break-in at an abandoned bowling club is reported, Detective Tom Blake discovers a large pool of dried blood in the hallway, but where is the body?

Later, enquiries reveal that a teenager and middle-aged man connected to the property disappeared without a trace in 1978.

When the burglar's DNA comes back as a familial match to a notorious paedophile sports coach, Bob Bennault: soon to be released from a ten-year prison sentence, a dark picture slowly emerges. Is it just a coincidence one of Bennault's relatives broke into 28 Chapel Road, or is there something far more sinister going on?

Blake and his team delve into the original missing person case, but someone is hiding the disturbing truth, and they will stop at nothing to ensure it stays buried.

Will Blake and a forensic team with ground-penetrating radar unearth the deadly truth surrounding the house of lies before a devastating hit-and-run involving his family leaves Blake questioning whether his life is worth living?

Set within a gritty midlands town with dark secrets: A House of Lies is the unforgettable prequel to the DI Tom Blake murder mystery series by J.F. Burgess.

MEET THE DETECTIVE

Tom Blake is a forty-six-old widowed detective inspector. His wife and ten-year-old son were tragically killed in a fatal hit-and-run car crash ten years ago. He was driving at the time and his daughter Isabel was also in the car - they both miraculously escaped with minor cuts and bruises, but he still suffers from emotional flashbacks and neck pain. His team never caught the joyrider who killed his family and he vows to bring the perpetrator to justice one day.

THE SETTING
The gritty, post-industrial five towns of Stoke on Trent with its derelict pottery factories, bone mills, disused deep mines, and numerous crime-addled council estates; make North Staffordshire a tough area to police due to its problems with unemployment, poverty and lack of meaningful investment since the late eighties. It's a unique place that is both scarred, ugly, deprived and beautiful at the same time. Ironic, since the tiles and pots it once produced on a grand scale adorn the walls, floors and tables in some of the most iconic buildings in history. From Buckingham Palace to the cathedrals and gothic civic buildings of the UK's best-known towns and cities.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE GRIPPING DI TOM BLAKE SERIES:

????? 'Tom Blake is a great character. I have read all his adventures and continue to look forward to the next one.' Josephine Wade

????? Compelling read! Intense and well-written narrative, with great characters! This book will stay with you for a long time, don't miss it!

????? 'Great reads with many twists and turns.' Author Elliot Fassbinder

????? 'J F Burgess knows how to keep his readers hooked right until the end.' Goodreads

????? 'I really like the way Mr Burgess tells a story.' Goodreads

????? 'J.F. Burgess writes with confidence and a distinctive style.' Alex Black

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• Crime, Thriller & MysteryCrime FictionBritish & IrishIrish
• Crime, Thriller & MysteryThrillersPulp
• Crime, Thriller & MysteryCrime FictionBritish & IrishWelsh
• Crime, Thriller & MysteryThrillersFinancial

• Publication Date: April 4, 2023
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 124 Pages
• File Size: 10 KB