It is almost midnight on Halloween. Firefighters following up a fourth hoax call to Druids Altar, a local beauty spot high on Harden Moor, discover the body of Shayla Richards, a young black girl. The post-mortem shows that Shayla was suffocated and sexually assaulted; photographs of her body at the crime-scene suggest a ritual sacrifice. DI John and Handford and DS Khalid Ali soon discover that Shayla's past is anything but straightforward. Over a year before her death, she accused a teacher of a sexual attack while in school. Although the teacher was suspended, the case collapsed when it came to trial. The murder investigation is never going to be easy and the police find themselves caught between factions who insist the dead girl had been a compulsive liar. Yet events take a more sinister turn when Handford discovers his prime suspect seems to be a man without a past. In fact, he doesn't even seem to exist...

'Excellent mystery tale.' PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH

Lesley Horton was a teacher in an inner-city Bradford school before writing her first novel, SNARES OF GUILT. She has run an educational unit for pregnant schoolgirls, and worked as a volunteer for Victim Support. She lives in Yorkshire. DEVILS IN THE MIRROR is the third book in the DI John Handford series.