Killing Tree

"One of the best British murder mysteries I've read in a long time."

Escape to the country? Or escape to murder?

November, cider-apple time, and Inspector Zig Batten regrets his enforced transfer from urban Yorkshire to not-so-sleepy Somerset. When hikers discover a dead body, propped against a tree on a lonely hill, Batten needs every grain of his Northern sarcasm to help him seek the killer.

Is it a coincidence the victim worked on the vast private estate of Wake Hall - home of a shifty horse-sales business run by a slap-happy Northern adversary? What exactly is in the horse-boxes that trundle into Wake Hall? And does the maverick Lady Wake know - or care?

Batten's delving is plagued by tensions within his new team, disappearing witnesses, self-doubt, poisoned guard dogs - and a shocking revelation.

Then, as Christmas draws near, the human cost of crime begins to escalate...

• From the Author

The 'Killing Tree' series is set in the real landscape of Somerset in the West Country of England - famous for its pretty villages, apple orchards and vintage cider-makers - all marred by murder - and at times in Greece or Spain. The books may be read standalone or in the following sequence:

A January Killing begins with a 'Wassail' - an ancient winter ceremony using music and drumming to rid the orchards of evil spirits. Shotguns are then fired into the bare branches to spark a fresh crop of apples. But one particular shotgun has far more malicious intent...
In An Easter Killing, the inhabitants of East Thorne wake on Good Friday morning to a heinous sight on Crown of Thorns Hill, which looms over the village...
When, in The Killing of Queen Mab, a convalescing Batten asks why vicious hands would slit the throat of the once-beautiful 'Queen Mab', his search for answers whisks him from Somerset to his native Yorkshire, to Cornwall and to the shores and mountains of Greece. And into danger...
A Secret Killing returns a reluctant Zig to Wake Hall, to old adversaries - and new secrets...
In A Ring O'Bells Killing, set in the quirky world of British Morris Dance, Zig's investigates in England and Greece, to fathom why dancers have suddenly become an endangered species...
In A Cider-Country Killing, Zig and newly-promoted Inspector Ball discover that cider may be nectar, but crime is poison...
And keep a lookout for book 8 in the series...

Paul Toolan was born in the urban north of England but now admits to being a southern softie living in rural Somerset. After a successful career in Colleges and Universities he wrote book/lyrics for musicals, before 'turning to crime.' A Killing Tree is the first novel in the ongoing Detective Inspector Zig Batten series. All can be read standalone.

Like his protagonist, Paul enjoys walking, gardens, fishing and the occasional whisky. Unlike him, he enjoys sport, the taste of mushrooms, and loves to travel - to Greece in particular.