Cover Your Tracks

Book excerpt: 'Stunning' - Sunday Times Claire Askew won the Bloody Scotland Scottish Debut Crime Award in 2019 with her debut All the Hidden Truths, praised as 'A meticulous and compelling novel' by Ian Rankin. 'What if I told you,' he said, 'that I believe my mother's life to be in danger?' Robertson Bennet returns to Edinburgh after a 25-year absence in search of his parents and his inheritance. But both have disappeared. A quick, routine police check should be enough - and Detective Inspector Helen Birch has enough on her plate trying to help her brother, Charlie, after an assault in prison. But all her instincts tell her not to let this case go. And so she digs. George and Phamie Bennet were together for a long time. No one can ever really know the secrets kept between husband and wife. But as Birch slowly begins to unravel the truth, terrible crimes start to rise to the surface. Beautifully written and ingeniously plotted, Cover Your Tracks confirms Claire Askew as a major new talent in crime fiction. Praise for Claire Askew's novels: 'Stunning debut... compellingly written' - Daily Mail 'A meticulous and compelling novel about the aftermath of a major crime and its effect on the affected families and investigating officers both' - Ian Rankin 'Splendid debut... thoughtful and well-written' - Guardian 'Gripping, heartbreaking and horrifyingly plausible. I couldn't tear myself away from this book. Claire Askew is a stunning new voice in crime fiction' - Erin Kelly, author of He Said/She Said 'Moving and memorable' - The Sunday Times 'A fine, thought-provoking debut' - Mail on Sunday 'Claire Askew takes us away from the obvious plot and asks us tantalising questions... an absorbing psychological trio for Askew's thought-provoking entry into crime fiction' - The Times