Absolution Denied (Paperback or Softback)

When Alan Kirkland went in search of a mysterious uncle, a James Kirkland, a man he never knew, a man disowned by his own family for some unknown reason, what he finally unearthed made him wish he had left the mystery buried.

The story unfolds in the present but the roots of it lay buried somewhere back in the time of The Great War. By researching old police reports and newspaper articles, Alan discovered that not only was his uncle an army deserter, but he also stood accused of murdering two young women, one of those women being the wife of Major Ethan Kightingale, a prominent member of society. But James Kirkland somehow avoided arrest and was never put on trial, consequently his version of events went with him to his grave.

Undeterred, refusing to surrender his search, it finally paid off for Alan Kirkland. He found that one remaining link to the past was still alive. Old and feeble, Cecilia Knightingale, a central player in the longago drama, held the key to the puzzle. But her family had its own dark past to shelter, and she would shelter it until the end.