The wicker coffin remained upended where it had been dropped headfirst in the open grave. But it was the pale arm reaching from beneath - fingers curled around the woven edge - that froze the mourners where they stood.

In the rain-soaked Scottish Highlands, Detective Inspector James Corstorphine arrives at what should have been a simple funeral. Janet Knight wanted only to rest among the birdsong and wildflowers she loved. Instead, her burial becomes a crime scene when a young woman's body is discovered in the grave.

Questioning the fractured family - a volatile soldier son, estranged religious siblings, and a healer who promises passage to the next realm - Corstorphine uncovers a devastating connection. Janet's daughter Mary vanished from these same woods over ten years ago, leaving behind a mother who never stopped searching.

With forensics threatening to unearth every body in the woodland cemetery, Corstorphine must navigate family betrayals to discover why someone chose Janet's grave to hide their victim. But in these silent woods where even birds have stopped singing, some secrets refuse to stay buried.

The fourth gripping DI Corstorphine mystery from CWA New Blood Dagger Longlist author and McIlvanney Prize finalist Andrew James Greig. A haunting Scottish crime thriller perfect for fans of LJ Ross, Ian Rankin, and Val McDermid.