When a homeless man dies in suspicious circumstances, Victor Mitchum knows it wasn’t an accident. Someone is targeting Manchester’s most vulnerable—and they’re just getting started.

Harry Sanders is found dead in a derelict pub. The authorities call it a tragic accident, but Victor recognises the signs of something far more sinister. He knew Harry from his own days on the streets—and Harry had been scared, convinced someone was following him.

Working with private investigators Kasper and Zofia Dąbrowski, Victor inherits Harry’s dog, Cleo, causing friction with Oscar, his own wilful dog, and uncovers a disturbing pattern. Homeless men with dogs are disappearing across the city. But as Victor closes in on answers, the detective agency itself comes under attack from a corrupt police officer with a vendetta.

Caught between loyalty to his friends and an offer that could finally give him stability, Victor must navigate Manchester’s criminal underworld to unmask a killer. And when the investigation explodes into a deadly confrontation, Victor will have to decide how far he’s willing to go—and who he’s willing to become—to save the people he cares about.

D. E. Beckler writes fast-paced action thrillers populated with well-rounded characters. Born in Addis Ababa in 1960, Beckler spent his first eight years living on an agricultural college in rural Ethiopia where his love of reading developed. After dropping out of university he became a firefighter and served nineteen years before leaving to start his own business.

Beckler began writing in 2010 and uses his work experiences to add realism to his fiction. Beckler lives in Manchester, his adopted home since 1984. In his spare time, he tries to keep fit—an increasingly difficult undertaking—listens to music, socialises and feeds his voracious book habit.