James Marrison

The Drowning Ground James Marrison

Marc Notes: Chief Inspector Guillermo Downes is a long way from his native home of Argentina, heading up the police department in the English Cotswolds. But he isn't far enough to escape the memories of his past, or to lose the baggage he carries from the loss of someone close to him. So when a young girl, Gail, disappears--the second girl in the span of two weeks to go missing--Downes makes a promise to the child's mother to find her no matter what it takes. Ten years later, that promise remains unfulfilled. And though the girls are never far from his thoughts, the job goes on. The body of a local man, Frank Hurst, has just been found dead, sprawled on a hill in town. Frank Hurst also had a past. His second wife drowned in their swimming pool and his daughter, Rebecca, left home soon after. Downes remembers the case well. And although many in the town think Frank murdered his wife, his alibi was confirmed. Still, it now seems that there might be a connection between Frank and the missing girls, which might give Chief Inspector Downes another chance to make good on the promise he made all those years ago. With the kind of insights into life in a seemingly peaceful village that made Broadchurch so powerful, James Marrison's The Vanishing Land introduces a terrific new voice in crime fiction--; Provided by publisher. Biographical Note: JAMES MARRISON is a journalist with a Master's degree in history, specializing in American Secret Intelligence, from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Marrison was a regular contributor to "Bizarre "magazine in the UK, where he wrote about true crime, and he also wrote for an English language newspaper in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he now lives. "The Drowning Ground "is his first novel. Publisher Marketing:"Out here, in the quaint ceaseless calm of an English village, it is hard to imagine a life beyond. From the outside, everything seems to make sense. Everything has its place. ""My friends are open and unsuspecting. There is none of the natural suspicion of the Argentinian. . . For me, it's unbelievable in a way."For two decades after being forced to leave his native Argentina, Detective Chief Inspector Guillermo Downes has sought tranquility in the orderly life of the English Cotswolds. But violence can strike just as suddenly in the countryside as it can in Buenos Aires. When the body of wealthy landowner Frank Hurst is found with a pitchfork through his neck, it brings back disturbing memories of former mysteries. Hurst's wife drowned in their swimming pool-an official accident, though many villagers have their doubts. And what about the two young girls who were abducted years before, with some possible links to Hurst that were never proven?''It's something truly terrible to make someone disappear, '' Downes tells his partner. Because the family never know, you see." Years ago he had promised the vanished girls' mothers to find their daughters, and as the ripples from Hurst's death spread through the village, there is fresh hope that he might finally make good on that promise, no matter what it costs the community or himself. With the kind of insights into life in a seemingly peaceful village that made "Broadchurch" so powerful, James Marrison's "The Drowning Ground" introduces a terrific new voice in crime fiction." Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 05/04/2015 (EAN 9781250054197, Hardcover) Booklist 06/01/2015 pg. 50 (EAN 9781250054197, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2015 (EAN 9781250054197, Hardcover) Booklist 06/01/2015 pg. 50 (EAN 9781466857216, Other) Contributor Bio:  Marrison, James JAMES MARRISON is a journalist with a Master's degree in history, specializing in American Secret Intelligence, from the University of Edinburgh in England. Marrison was a regular contributor to Bizarre magazine in the UK, where he wrote about true crime, and he also wrote for an English language newspaper in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he now lives. "The Drowning Ground "is his first novel.