The Wolf at the Gate — J.J. Salkeld

It's high summer of 2015 in the Lake District, in more ways than one. Because Owen Irvine, the shepherd detective, is on the trail of the violent criminal gang bringing ‘legal highs' to Cumbria - with fatal consequences. And even with the assistance of DI Andy Hall and Tom Atkins (hero of J J Salkeld's spy thriller Trouble in the Wind) Irvine's crusade leads him, and his family, into a position of mortal danger.

The third novella in the thrilling A Natural Detective series sees PC Kathy Stone struggling to deal with a recidivist elderly aunt, while former DC Ray Dixon makes a cameo appearance. But can even the full cast of Salkeld's crime-fighting central characters really triumph against the combined forces of international criminality?