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2000s: DCI Sophie Allen is the head of the newly formed Violent Crime Unit in Dorset.
2000s: DCI Sophie Allen is the head of the newly formed Violent Crime Unit in Dorset.
A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart.
DCI Sophie Allen and her team at first think that this is going to be a gruesome but relatively straight forward crime to solve and so get straight on it. However, when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning, things take a dramatic turn for the worse.
The case grows more complex still when DCI Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation.
There’s an obvious suspect but Detective Allen isn’t convinced. If something is obvious there’s a tendency to ignore the rest.
And she’s not about to do that.
Purbeck – a peninsula not an island
The Purbeck region of Dorset really comes to life in Michael Hambling’s novels
The Isle of Purbeck is not a true island but a peninsula,bordered by the English Channel to the south and east; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the north.
The Castle at Corfe where Donna’s mother lives near to, is more than steeped in history. Purbeck marble was once quarried here and the roads leading to and from the village were visible from the castle so it was well protected.
Donna’s mother lives here. The Castle is a nice place to visit just on the outskirts of the village. Sophie and Marsh drive here and think it very picturesque
Swanage is at the eastern end of the peninsula. The railway line from Wareham was closed in 1972, but has now reopened as a heritage railway.
Author/Guide: Michael Hambling Destination: Swanage, Corfe Castle, Wareham, Isle of Purbeck, Poole, Bournemouth Departure Time: 2000s
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