Vicious Circle

by Mark Neild

On a summer morning in 2002, a group of builders uncover skeletonized human remains in Mancunian woodland. They belong to Gordon Lundy, an antique dealer from Sussex, who disappeared in 1975. In the face of a domestic crisis and corrupt senior managers, brilliant but brittle detective Dave Wrench is tasked with finding the killer. Wrench uncovers a trail of devastated people and lives that although separated by decades have one thing in common – they have all crossed paths with local businessman, James Dolby. But is this a tragic coincidence or evidence of something more sinister? Wrench's attempts to find out change him beyond recognition.Vicious Circle is a psychological thriller that examines with surgical precision the extremes of human nature – to be halfway between the apes and the angels. It is, in many ways, an ode to Manchester. A city made for film noir. Vicious Circle is no exercise in cliched mythology though – this is real life.

373 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2020