Killing a Stranger (The Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 4)

The new Naomi Blake crime novel A teenage boy is found drowned in a canal, just hours after telling his mother that he has killed a man. Rob Beresford was a schoolfriend of Patrick's; in their shock and grief, Patrick and his mates turn for help to Naomi. The dead man is identified as Adam Hensel: in his mid-forties, from the other side of town. There seems to have been no link between the two, and Rob was a model student, who had never been in trouble with the police. His mother, Clara, is devastated, adamant that Rob could not have killed anyone - despite evidence to the contrary - and his friends rally around her. Naomi is drawn into the case, by her friendship with Patrick, and because the detective handling it is her boyfriend, Alec. Then a surprising alliance is formed, between Clara and Ernst Hensel, father of the dead man. It becomes clear to Naomi that there is a complex, tragic story behind the bald facts of the case, one that has its roots in the past? The blind former Detective Inspector investigates a teenage boy’s baffling confession of murder in this gripping British mystery by “a major talent” (Val McDermid). When popular high school student Rob Beresford comes home crying and covered in blood, his mother, Clara, can’t believe the boy’s shocking admission: “He’s dead. I killed him.” Nor can she fathom that only hours later her son’s body would be found drowned in the English Midlands. An open-and-shut case of murder/suicide? To ex-Detective Inspector Naomi Blake and her boyfriend, DI Alec Friedman, there must be more to the story. Why would a model student stab a complete stranger to death, openly confess to the crime, then fling himself into the canal? The answers aren’t at all what Naomi expects. Especially after an unlikely alliance develops between Clara and the father of the dead man—and the sordid tragedies from the past come to light. Blind, English detective Naomi Blake investigates a teenage boy's baffling confession of murder in this gripping mystery by "a major talent" (Val McDermid). When affable and popular high school student Rob Beresford comes home covered in blood and crying, his mother, Clara, can't believe the boy's shocking admission: "He's dead. I killed him." Nor can she fathom that only hours later her son's body would be found drowned in the English Midlands. An open-and-shut case of murder/suicide' To ex-Detective Inspector Naomi Blake and her boyfriend, DI Alec Friedman, there must be more to the story. Why would a model student stab to death a complete stranger, openly confess to the crime, then fling himself into the canal' The answers aren't at all what Naomi expects. Especially after an unlikely alliance develops between Clara and the father of the dead man-and the sordid tragedies from the past come to light A teenage boy is found drowned in a canal, just hours after telling his mother that he has killed a man. Rob Beresford was a school friend of Patrick's; in their shock and grief, Patrick and his mates turn for help to Naomi. It soon becomes clear that there is a complex, tragic story behind the bald facts of the case, one that has its roots in the past.