DI Mike Yorke is coming home. After three months in London, he's looking forward to being back in the north east - but he's barely off the train before he's deep into the most bizarre case of his career.
A viciously flogged corpse. Children disappearing, the length of the A1. Horrific new street drugs. And buried somewhere is a deadly secret that will lead him down paths so dangerous, he will question the very fabric of society.
In the first in a stunning new series set on Holy Island, an explosive secret going back to the dawn of time is unearthed by a young woman who, fearing for her life, goes on the run in the wilds of Northumbria. The fate of the world is in the hands of DI Mike Yorke, and abused clairvoyant street kid called 'Smiler', and Mike's elderly Aunt May. Everyone from the lowlifes of the London streets to the monks near Holy Island become involved in a race against time to save humanity.
From the celebrated author of the Seahills Estate novels comes a BRAND NEW Series that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
'This terrifyingly thrilling crime drama opens a brand new chapter in the dark imagination of Sheila Quigley' (SHARI LOW - Daily Record)
'Sometimes brutal, sometimes scary, sometimes funny, always entertaining! Quigley delivers a storming debut to her brand new series with THORN IN MY SIDE' (MATT HILTON - Author of the Joe Hunter thrillers)
'Quigley's gripping thriller is a convincing portrayal of a violent underworld' (THE INDEPENDENT)
'Thorn in my Side is a fast and furious page turner, with one of the best characters in 'smiler', to grace fiction. The best book I read last year. (GRAHAM SMITH - crimesquad.com).
'A real page-turner' (WOMAN).
'Fast-paced' (DAILY TELEGRAPH).
'A rattling good plot... it doesn't stop running until the final page by which time you will be breathless' (NEWCASTLE JOURNAL).
'In the imortal words of Spinal Tap, this one goes up to 11'. (PAUL D BRAZIL).
'The grande Dame of gritty northern crime offers a new series character, but with all her usual power and page turning style'. (CHRIS SIMMONS crimesquad.com).