The Promised Land, Paperback

Newly promoted Detective Chief Inspector Kathy Kolla investigates a series of brutal murders on Hampstead Heath. Under intense pressure to find answers, she arrests the unlikely figure of Charles Pettigrew, a failing London publisher who lives alone on the edge of the Heath. Pettigrew's lawyer calls on recently retired David Brock for advice, and soon, unable to resist the pull of investigation, the old colleagues, Brock and Kolla, are at loggerheads. At the heart of the gripping mystery of the Hampstead murders lies a manuscript of an unknown novel by one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. Brock believes that its story will unlock the puzzle, but how?

Barry Maitland studied architecture at Cambridge. He practiced and taught in the UK before moving to Australia where he was Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle. He has since retired to pursue his writing. Maitland's first mystery, The Marx Sisters, was a nominee for the John Creasey award for Best First Novel, and The Malcontenta won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction. Bright Air, Maitland's first crime novel set in Australia, was published in 2008.