Middle of winter, St Andrews: When a young woman’s half-naked body is found on Fife’s Coastal Path, frozen and with remnants of a rope manacle around her wrist, DCI Andy Gilchrist is given the case. With DS Stan Davidson in hospital recovering from multiple stab wounds, Gilchrist finds himself partnered with DS Jessica ‘Jessie’ Janes, who has only just transferred to Fife Constabulary from Strathclyde.

But Jessie’s first day on the job gives her sight of the darker underbelly of Fife, when the slaughtered bodies of two more young women are found in an abandoned house. Who are these women? Where are they from? And why were they held captive?

Gilchrist’s investigation uncovers a bloody trail of beheadings and shootings that lead him to the heart of a trafficking war. Links to Scotland’s godfather, the Home Office, and a killer intent on expanding his territory, pull Gilchrist ever deeper into this murderous web, only for him to realize too late that he has been led into a deadly trap.

Barely conscious, and held captive by a killer for whom life means nothing, Gilchrist
clings to the slimmest of hopes. But with time running out, and no means of escape,
he knows he is about to turn up like the others – dead, beheaded, by the beach.

What critics are saying about LIFE FOR A LIFE

“Muir knows what he’s about…  A truly gripping read, with all the makings of a classic series."
Mick Herron – Winner of the CWA 2013 Gold Dagger Award.

“…it’s the best yet… pure fiction gold…” 
Daily Record

What readers are saying about LIFE FOR A LIFE

"…possibly the best DCI Gilchrist so far…"

"…the grisliest DCI Andy Gilchrist novel yet… not for the faint-hearted…"

"Another cracking story from Scottish crime writer Muir."