Blame

A university city. A generation under pressure. And someone has decided they must pay.

Joseph Darby has taught sociology of culture for twenty years. Once an idealist, he has become increasingly angry and disillusioned by the world around him — and by the young people sitting in front of him.

Among the marked essays and abandoned papers on his desk lies a work of his own.

A manifesto.

THE WASTED YOUTH.

Across the city, hundreds of people are settling into their seats at its largest cinema when a bomb explodes in Screen Four. Among the dead are students from the university.

DCI Colin Mills and DI Kate Dee are assigned to the investigation. But before they can begin to make sense of the devastation, another device detonates. Then another. Each attack strikes somewhere frequented by students.

A pattern is emerging.

As fear spreads through the city, Mills and Dee must discover what connects the victims, uncover the thinking behind the attacks and find the person responsible.

Because whoever is doing this isn’t finished.

EDWARD BURLEY has always been fascinated by human behaviour: what makes people do the things they do? He could think of no better place to explore that question than in the world of crime fiction. Edward lives in the West Country with his wife, two children and a healthy collection of guitars.