In the depths of his Cornish hideaway, retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder’s solitary life is disturbed by a call from his ex-wife, telling him his seventeen-year-old daughter, Katherine, is running wild, unbalanced by the abduction and rape he feels he should have prevented. Meanwhile, in the heart of London, the takedown of a violent criminal goes badly, and Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch is uneasy about the reasons why, an uneasiness that is compounded when she starts to believe she is being stalked. Maddy and Frank had a brief and clumsy encounter years before. In Ash & Bone their lives connect again when a second phone call persuades Elder out of retirement, only to find that a cold case has a devastating present-day impact. PRAISE FOR JOHN HARVEY "Harvey writes better crime novels than anyone in the world."-- The Denver Post "If Harvey's novels were songs, Charlie Parker would play them."-- The New York Times Book Review Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch will never see thirty again. Nor forty. And, after a lifetime on the force, all she has to show for it are a couple of hundred pounds in the bank and a mortgaged flat. In Cornwall, retired Detective Inspector Elder's solitary life is disturbed by a phone call from his estranged wife. Seventeen-year-old Katherine is running wild. Elder's fears for his daughter are underscored by remorse and guilt, for it was his involvement that led directly to the abduction and rape that has so unbalanced Katherine's life. There's a connection between Maddy and Elder: a brief, clumsy encounter sixteen years earlier. Just a quick grope and a cuddle, leading to nothing, but leaving a trace of lingering regret. When the takedown of a violent criminal goes badly wrong leaving both the target and a young constable dead, something doesn't feel right to Maddy. In Ash and Bone, the unsettled, unhappy Elder is once again persuaded out of retirement. A cold, cold case has a devastating present day impact with sinister implications for the crime squad itself. Elder's investigation takes place against the backdrop of his increasing concern for his daughter together with demons of his own he must battle before he can uncover the truth. A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist "Harvey s detectives . . . are the real deal strong men who are sensitive enough to empathize with other people. Even people who happen to be women . . . In Elder, he has given them a champion who really does feel their pain." The New York Times Book Review Retired Detective Inspector Frank Elder s solitary life is disturbed by a call from his ex-wife, telling him his seventeen-year-old daughter, Katherine, is running wild. Meanwhile, the takedown of a violent criminal goes badly, and Detective Sergeant Maddy Birch s uneasiness about it is compounded when she starts to believe she is being stalked. Maddy and Frank had a brief and clumsy encounter years before. In Ash & Bone their lives connect again when a second phone call persuades Elder out of retirement, only to find that a cold case has a devastating present-day impact. "Distinguished by seriousness, sophistication and stylistic elegance." The Washington Post "Harvey imbues [his characters] with such richly rendered emotion . . . that the whole genre seems brand new." Houston Chronicle John Harvey is the author of ten Charlie Resnick novels. Flesh & Blood, the first novel featuring Frank Elder, won the Silver Dagger Award and the Barry Award. Harvey lives in Great Britain. " JOHN HARVEY is the author of ten previous Charlie Resnick novels and the Frank Elder series, and a recipient of the Silver Dagger Award, the Barry Award, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award for lifetime achievement, among other honors. He lives in London. MADDY BIRCH WOULD NEVER SEE THIRTY AGAIN. NOR forty either. Stepping back from the mirror, she scowled at the wrinkles that were beginning to show at the edges of her mouth and the corners of her eyes; the gray infiltrating her otherwise dark brown, almost chestnut, hair. Next birthday she would be forty-four. Forty-four and a detective sergeant attached to SO7, Serious and Organized Crime. A few hundred in the bank and a mortgaged flat in the part of Upper Holloway that North London estate agents got away with calling Highgate Borders. Not a lot to show for half a lifetime on the force. Wrinkles aside. Slipping a scarlet band from her pocket, she pulled her hair sharply back and twisted the band into place. Taking a step away, she glanced quickly down at her boots and the front of her jeans, secured the Velcro straps of her bulletproof vest, gave the ponytail a final tug, and walked back into the main room. To accommodate all the personnel involved, the briefing had been held in the hall of an abandoned school, Detective Superintendent George Mallory, in charge of the operation, addressing the troops from the small stage on which head teachers since Victorian times had, each autumn, admoni