Perfect isolation. No phones. No neighbors. No help. Ex-cop turned criminal lawyer Tim Fontaine and his wife Amy are heading for their weekender – a restored farmhouse in remote bushland known as Black Pig Bend. But even before they've eaten dinner, three outlaw bikers arrive on the scene. Suddenly Tim's house becomes a fortress. Who are these people? Why have they come? Who sent them? As the lights go out and darkness descends, their idyllic world is transformed into a nightmare from which there is no waking up. Tim must grapple not just with formidable adversaries, but with unsettling questions relating to his own past, both as cop and lawyer, and even to his marriage. But even if they survive this night against appalling odds, the ordeal is far from over. For when the past comes knocking, it will not be denied ... "Not for the faint hearted" – Shane Maloney, author of the Murray Whelan series "8 Hours to Die scorches along relentlessly, displaying all of JR Carroll's trademark thriller-writing skills: hard-edged prose, vivid characterisation, a strong sense of place and tense plotting." – Garry Disher, author of the Wyatt series and the Challis & Destry series

Just as he encountered murder while off duty in Blood upon the Snow, detective Mark East once again finds his vacation interrupted by a mystery. Perhaps it was a mistake to return to the same small town. On his last visit, the streets of Crestwood lay buried in snow. This time, blazing heat overwhelms the sleepy resort community. In the cool of evening, locals and summer visitors gather for a church supper. Afterward, one guest fails to return to the hotel, but East refuses to take an interest, reasoning that an attractive young woman might have any number of more interesting prospects. But everyone insists that it's not like Mary Cassidy to suddenly disappear, citing her pleasant ladylike behavior and her kindness to a motherless child. As East's host, Sheriff Perley Wilcox, uncovers further details about the missing woman, the detective gradually becomes more and more drawn into the case until his concern is captured by a grotesque discovery in the town's well. The suspense builds as East investigates Mary's background and learns that the retiring gentlewoman wasn't at all what she seemed to be — and that time is running out for the next victim!