Dead Man's Lie — Marten Claridge

Mean streets wear many guises but the motives for murder never change.

Deep in the Scottish Borders a cartel of landowners are conspiring to restock Tweed's dwindling resources with genetically-engineered salmon they hope will re-establish the river's global reputation and put it firmly back on the angling map.

Only the small Craikmuir estate stands in their way -- and a self-styled eco-warrior called Fin, fighting the feudal inequities of fishing rights. Lurking beneath the surface in scuba gear, harassing Tweed's most exclusive fishing beats. And now according to the press, setting off bombs and killing people. Scaring off the big investors.

Duncan Ker thought the days of Borders bloodfeud were long gone. But when his brother -- the Laird of Craikmuir -- is fished comatose from the Tweed, he's forced to give up his aimless ex-pat existence and return home to confront the corporate wolves at the castle gates. Which is when the bodies start to fall.

Brother Lox Lennox is used to falling bodies. But then he's no ordinary monk. Ex-SAS and with a bullet still lodged in his skull, his convoluted past is a minefield of contradictions best avoided in the sanctuary of the cloisters. Now he's out on the river with shotgun and grenades, hunting down Fin and looking for redemption. When he finds it in the strangest place it's at a price he can't afford.

Masterfully crafted and meticulously researched, Dead Man's Lie is Marten Claridge at his imaginative best. Expect the unexpected.