Because She Looked Away - (Ronnie Blake) by Alison Bruce

Book Synopsis

'A powerful and absorbing story that stayed with me long after I'd finished reading. A writer at the top of her game' Elly Griffiths

'One of our most interesting crime writers' Daily Mail

After the sudden death of her sister, devastated detective DS Ronnie Blake relocates to Cambridge to help her brother Alex raise their sister's young son, Noah. She reports for her first day but instead finds herself being questioned by a special investigations unit, nicknamed the DEAD Team.

With a small group of six, led by DI Fenton, the once-successful DEAD team has a single outstanding case, Operation Byron, and the failure to resolve it threatens the unit's existence. Their most promising lead is an anonymous note linking three seemingly unconnected people: a convicted fraudster, a dead academic... and Ronnie's sister Jodie.

When Ronnie is denied information about Operation Byron, she follows a lead slipped to her by Malachi, the youngest member of the team, and makes a discovery which links Operation Byron to a disturbing unsolved murder. She is rapidly drawn into an intricate web of deceit, buried secrets and tragedy and the discovery that her connection to Cambridge is far darker than she could ever have guessed.

Praise for Alison Bruce

'Alison Bruce always delivers. Her latest is tense, twisty, terrific' Ian Rankin

' [Alison Bruce] has written a superior thriller, full of suppressed menace'The Times Crime Club

'Unpredictable, challenging and compelling' Sophie Hannah

'Alison Bruce has long been one of the most adroit crime fiction practitioners in the UK. The Moment Before Impact is . . . her most accomplished outing yet' Barry Forshaw, Financial Time

'As always, Bruce produces a rewarding read' The Times

'I Did It For Us held me from the off. It's compelling, slickly plotted and brilliantly written' Amanda Jennings

From the Back Cover

Praise for Alison Bruce

'Alison Bruce always delivers. Her latest is tense, twisty, terrific' Ian Rankin

' [Alison Bruce] has written a superior thriller, full of suppressed menace'The Times Crime Club

'A powerful and absorbing story that stayed with me long after I'd finished reading. A writer at the top of her game' Elly Griffiths

'Unpredictable, challenging and compelling' Sophie Hannah

'Alison Bruce has long been one of the most adroit crime fiction practitioners in the UK. The Moment Before Impact is . . . her most accomplished outing yet' Barry Forshaw, Financial Time

'As always, Bruce produces a rewarding read' The Times

'I Did It For Us held me from the off. It's compelling, slickly plotted and brilliantly written' Amanda Jennings

'One of our most interesting crime writers'Daily Mail

Alison Bruce is fascinating. Her imagination is always unpredictable and her writing is challenging and compelling - Sophie Hannah

I Did It For Us held me from the off. It's compelling, slickly plotted and brilliantly written - Amanda Jennings

About the Author

Alison Bruce is the author of nine crime novels and two non-fiction titles. Her first novel, Cambridge Blue (2008), was described by Publishers Weekly as an 'assured debut' and introduced both detective, DC Gary Goodhew, and her trademark Cambridge setting. She went on to write six further novels in the DC Goodhew series before writing the psychological thriller I Did It for Us (2018). Her latest novel, The Moment Before Impact, is described by Ian Rankin as 'tense, twisty, terrific'.

Alison was awarded a first in BSc (Hons) in Crime and Investigation at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge which included subject areas such as: crime scene investigation, policing practice, major investigations, mass fatality incidents, fire investigation, forensic pathology and forensic anthropology. This included practical skills such as: lifting fingermarks, bone identification, testing for bodily fluids and recovering trace evidence.
Alison is currently working on the UK's largest policing professionalism contract which is delivering policing degrees to the Metropolitan Police and to 7 police forces including Cambridgeshire.