Traumatized detective Cassie Maddox struggles in her career and relationship with Sam O'Neill while investigating the unsettling murder of a young woman whose name matches an alias Cassie had used as an undercover officer.

Shocked to learn that a loyal advisor to the king has been murdered in an enemy fortress and that the chief suspect is scheduled to be brutally executed, Fidelma is challenged to sift through overwhelming evidence to clear the suspect's name and identify the true killer.

"Being on the Murder Squad is nothing like Detective Antoinette Conway dreamed it would be. Her partner, Stephen Moran, is the only person who seems glad she's there. The rest of her working life is a stream of thankless cases, vicious pranks, and harassment. Antoinette is savagely tough, but she's getting close to the breaking point. Their new case looks like yet another by-the-numbers lovers' quarrel gone bad. Aislinn Murray is blond, pretty, groomed...

"An early morning call brings Belfast detective Serena Flanagan to the scene of a sudden death. Henry Garrick, the owner of a successful local car dealership, who had been horrifically maimed in a car accident five months ago, appears to have taken his own life. A simple case, it should be wrapped up in a few days, but something doesn't feel right to Flanagan, despite the fact that there is no evidence of foul play. As she investigates, Flanagan interviews...