RUNNING OUT OF ROAD

A gripping thriller set in the Derbyshire Peak District, a novel about family and betrayal, injustice and violence, fear and love, resilience, kindness and hope. A missing schoolgirl, a middle-aged recluse, an exploited teenager. Lives thrown into chaos and set on a collision course, with the police in hot pursuit. Scarlett is dancing in the school talent show tomorrow. Nana, who Scarlett lives with since Mum died, reckons Scarlett will be on Strictly at this rate except Scarlett doesn't make it home from school. She's abducted by a man she never imagined she would see again, a man on the police's most wanted list - her dad. Ron had made a living as a house and pet sitter since quitting his career on the front line in the fire service. He's currently looking after a place deep in the Derbyshire Peaks. The solitude suits him, and managing animals is so much simpler than coping with other people. Dylan's a 'cuckoo', dealing drugs on the county line, moving from nest to nest, picking out people who daren't say no. Keeping his head down, one step ahead of the law so far, but now everything's falling apart. DS Laura O'Neil is running on empty after nights dealing with her teething toddler, but she is driving the hunt for Scarlett and knows that every minute counts. PC Ahmed Ali discovers a seriously injured man in a drug den and chases his suspected attacker across the hills. He is determined to bring him to justice, but fate has other plans in store. A race against time played out in the brooding wilderness, the limestone gorges and gritstone edges of the Peak District with themes of escape and entrapment, shifting loyalties and new alliances. 262pp, paperback.