A murder with no weapon or motive. A detective on edge. A community that wants answers. Impurity is the first in a series of six books featuring Leeds based Detective Inspector Stewart Gardener.

One fateful night, DI Stewart Gardener intervenes in a street brawl, and his wife is shot dead. Finding his wife’s murderer is never far from his mind, but with no leads and a hazy recollection of events, it seems hopeless.

Soon he is presented with a shocking case. A man is found dead in a grubby apartment, and It is not long before another man meets the same fate. The deaths are caused by a rapid disintegration of the victims’ flesh.

Pathology cannot ascertain the cause. The only connection between the victims is they both worked seasonally as Santas. Who would want to kill such innocuous men as these? Can DI Gardener overcome his grief and solve the case?