In the mist-laced valleys near Coniston Water, where ancient fells cradle secrets older than memory, DI Stone is called to a burning barn. Amid the charred wreckage lies something the fire couldn’t consume—a body, its leathery skin and intact features echoing the bog burials of the Iron Age.
The victim was a divisive advocate whose ecological vision clashed violently with Cumbria’s farmers. But when a second body surfaces—this one smoke-cured—Stone realises he’s not chasing a lone killer, but unravelling a macabre manifesto.
Each victim bears the mark of a different preservation technique, echoing a long-forgotten art exhibition, which scandalised the region two decades earlier. As Stone digs deeper, he uncovers a chilling pattern: the killer is staging a grotesque revival to make a statement about heritage, loss, and control.
With a climate scientist potentially next, Stone must navigate a landscape where cultural memory runs deep and artistic obsession turns deadly. In a region where the past is never truly forgotten, preservation becomes a powerful tool.
To stop the killer, Stone must interpret the twisted logic, confront the ghosts of Cumbria’s conflicted identity, and expose the deadly artistry hidden beneath its timeless beauty.
Genre: Mystery
The victim was a divisive advocate whose ecological vision clashed violently with Cumbria’s farmers. But when a second body surfaces—this one smoke-cured—Stone realises he’s not chasing a lone killer, but unravelling a macabre manifesto.
Each victim bears the mark of a different preservation technique, echoing a long-forgotten art exhibition, which scandalised the region two decades earlier. As Stone digs deeper, he uncovers a chilling pattern: the killer is staging a grotesque revival to make a statement about heritage, loss, and control.
With a climate scientist potentially next, Stone must navigate a landscape where cultural memory runs deep and artistic obsession turns deadly. In a region where the past is never truly forgotten, preservation becomes a powerful tool.
To stop the killer, Stone must interpret the twisted logic, confront the ghosts of Cumbria’s conflicted identity, and expose the deadly artistry hidden beneath its timeless beauty.
Genre: Mystery
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Used availability for Phillip Strang's Elements of Death