The Hireling's Tale — Jo Bannister

MARKED FOR MURDER
Detective Inspector Frank Shapiro and his two chief investigators, Liz Graham and Cal Donovan, probe a mysterious conspiracy, which may rob Castlemere of more than one of their finest.

A young prostitute is found dead on a boat in the Castlemere Canal and the detective trio quickly determines she was pushed from a hotel window during an international business convention, then disposed of in the canal.

Adding to the puzzle, there's a hired killer on the loose, making target practice of farm animals -- before taking aim at the real mark, the hotel's convention organizer. But the hit misses -- and Shapiro takes the bullet. Now it's up to a shaken Graham and Donovan to sort out a complex crime that will lead to another fatal confrontation in the lonely English countryside, one that may strike another tragic blow to the ranks of Castlemere's police force.