Cruel Summer: a gripping crime mystery (Anna Scavolini Mysteries)

"Zoe Callahan is having the summer from hell... and it’s about to get a whole lot worse. She’s stuck in a dead-end job, her relationship is going nowhere and the memory of the Kelvingrove Park Murders three years ago continues to cast a long shadow over every aspect of her life. When a prostitute is brutally assaulted by Dominic Ryland, a rising political star with a suspiciously spotless personal reputation, Zoe leaps at the chance to embroil herself in a noble cause and sets out on a one-woman crusade to bring Ryland to justice. But in doing so, she quickly finds herself on the wrong side of some very dangerous people – people who have reputations to protect and who would think nothing of silencing Zoe by any means necessary. An explosive thriller set against the backdrop of a sweltering heatwave, Cruel Summer is the sequel to M. R. Mackenzie’s critically acclaimed McIlvanney Prize-nominated debut, In the Silence, and the second instalment in the Kelvingrove Park Trilogy."--Back cover. Zoe Callahan is having the summer from hell... and it’s about to get a whole lot worse. She’s stuck in a dead-end job, her relationship is going nowhere, and the long shadow of the Kelvingrove Park Murders – which, three years ago, upended the lives of both her and her best friend, Anna Scavolini – continues to exert its hold on her. When a prostitute is brutally assaulted by Dominic Ryland, a rising political star, Zoe leaps at the chance to take on a noble cause, vowing to bring him to justice. But she soon finds herself on the wrong side of some seriously dangerous people: men who have no qualms about silencing her by any means necessary. As Glasgow simmers under a sweltering heatwave and tensions rise throughout the city, Zoe and Anna are once again drawn into a web of secrets and shocking revelations, with a heavy price to pay for everyone involved – not least Zoe, who’s about to realise she’s got far more to lose than she ever thought.