The Guilty Man by Helen H. Durrant

A missing child, drugs, human-trafficking, hangings and two spectacular fires. At the centre of it all, a detective with a mysterious past. The latest novel by author Helen H. Durrant is truly compelling.

In a declining town in the North of England, a man is tortured by a ruthless criminal. The victim’s severed hand is left on his wife’s doorstep.

Meanwhile, Detective Harry Lennox and DS Jess Wilde are involved in the case of a missing child. The little girl, presumed dead, turns up playing happily in a local park. The child’s mother who lives on a notorious estate doesn’t seem to care.

Detective Harry Lennox is battling his own demons, trying to bury a secret from his past with alcohol. He is staying in a rundown campervan on a friend’s driveway. Jess wants to know why he’s living like this, but he refuses to tell her anything.

How do the cases connect and who is trying to drive people out of their homes?