Lawson closed the heavy front door and rested his forehead against the wood for a moment. He reasoned that probably neither MacPhee nor his wife could see that far. When he heard the rusty latch finally fall into place, Lawson raised his hand to wave farewell but there was no response. His pronounced stoop and the fact that the sleeves of his beige rain jacket were too long made it difficult and his wife’s body language exuded impatience as he continued to fumble with the mechanism. Willie MacPhee, a long-retired bank employee and the last of the group to complete the walk along the overgrown path through a maze of vandalised headstones and neglected shrubbery, turned to close the gate behind him.

He guessed at a combined age of something over six hundred. He could not help but feel - with what he thought was a brave attempt at humour - that what they lacked in numbers they made up for in years. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.The Rev Joseph Lawson took up stance at the door of his church to watch his congregation - all eight of them - depart at the end of the Sunday evening service. McClure's work is informed by his background as an award-winning research scientist with the UK's Medical Research Council. His books have been translated into twenty-three languages and he has earned a reputation for the accuracy of his predicitions. Ken McClure is the internationally bestselling author of over twenty medical thrillers such as The Lazarus Strain, The Gulf Conspiracy, White Death and Dust to Dust. It was the fifth thriller to feature Steven Dunbar, a series which currently extends to ten. This title was first published by Allison & Busby in the UK in 2005. Understandably, the local police resent Steven questioning anything at all about such an open and shut case but, as he begins to find his life in danger, Steven realises that the police are not the only ones objecting to his involvement. His conviction however, was based on indisputable DNA evidence, a perfect match and completely beyond doubt. Steven begins to understand the request for his involvement when it emerges that the prisoner, Dr David Little, was an outstanding medical researcher before the murder and has always maintained his innocence. Combe, confined to the State Mental Hospital in central Scotland, claims to have raped and murdered a young girl in a village outside Edinburgh some years before – a particularly brutal killing for which another man has been convicted and has languished in prison for over nine years. Steven is therefore surprised when he is asked to investigate the deathbed confession of convicted psychopath, Hector Combe.

Ex-Special Forces medic, Dr Steven Dunbar, now works for the Sci-Med Inspectorate, a small unit based in the UK Home Office whose job it is to investigate crime in the Hi-Tec areas of science and medicine.

Eye Of The Raven by Ken McClure