Cold in the Earth

Marjory Fleming is Scottish, a sheepfarmer's wife, a mother of two, and a police detective inspector in Galloway whose home and family are her refuge from the violence of her job.

Laura is a psychologist, wracked with guilt after the death of her marriage and her mother, who determines to find out what happened to her older half-sister who left home 15 years ago. Laura's search takes her to rural Galloway, where her sister stayed with an extraordinary family who are top bull breeders.

It is 2001, and with foot and mouth having just broken out, Dumfries and Galloway is one of the first places hit. The bulls are killed, and a body discovered when their field is ploughed up for burial of the carcasses. And DI Fleming - 'Big Marge' to her men - can't go home, where her husband is having to destroy his own animals, because of the murder investigation . . .

“Detective Inspector Marjory Fleming, a resolute Scot, is Aline Templeton's new detective for whom a series is planned. A long-hidden body is discovered in an area isolated during a foot-and-mouth epidemic.The remote rural Scottish background, a blizzard, a feuding farming family with secrets - all these combine to make this novel a compelling read.”

Aline Templeton has been producing quietly intelligent, carefully plotted thrillers for years. Templeton creates a tight, convincing band of characters and has the ability to spin her story beyond immediate events to paint a picture of a small rural community in crisis. She is good at managing her plot and revealing details slowly. She has demonstrated that, just when we thought Scotland was saturated with detectives, a strong woman can elbow her way in and find a unique niche. - Scotsman

- Margaret Yorke

Aline Templeton anatomises a rural community, provides a contemporary gothic frisson and introduces a strong and sympathetic series character. The result is an unalloyed pleasure - an intelligent, character-driven crime novel. - Andrew Taylor

A compelling read - Margaret Yorke

An unalloyed pleasure - an intelligent, character-driven crime novel. - Andrew Taylor

Templeton has wit, a strong narrative sense and a dab hand with atmospherics - Literary Review on LAST ACT OF ALL

This astringent tale of psychological suspense set in a remote Welsh valley uses the landscape with an almost visionary splendour - The Times on NIGHT AND SILENCE

Templeton crafts a nifty plot amid the dour and inward-looking denizens of a Fenland village - Scotsman on LAST ACT OF ALL

Aline Templeton has worked in education and broadcasting. She grew up in Scotland, read English at Girton College, Cambridge, and now lives in Edinburgh. She has a grown-up son and daughter.

Marjory Fleming is Scottish, a sheepfarmer's wife, a mother of two, and a police detective inspector in Galloway whose home and family are her refuge from the violence of her job. Laura is a psychologist, wracked with guilt after the death of her marriage and her mother, who determines to find out what happened to her older half-sister who left home 15 years ago. Laura's search takes her to rural Galloway, where her sister stayed with an extraordinary family who are top bull breeders. It is 2001, and with foot and mouth having just broken out, Dumfries and Galloway is one of the first places hit. The bulls are killed, and a body discovered when their field is ploughed up for burial of the carcasses. And DI Fleming - 'Big Marge' to her men - can't go home, where her husband is having to destroy his own animals, because of the murder investigation . . .

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