Joey McCarthy is stabbed to death in a pub car park in a random act of violence. Shortly afterwards Charlotte Stone's terminally ill mother dies and then, within weeks, two of her teenage friends commit suicide. With her home life disintegrating and both her father and brother racing towards self-destruction Charlotte realises that her own personal nightmare may not be over yet. When DC Gary Goodhew finds the body of another suicide victim he is forced to recall some deeply buried memories of an earlier death; memories which lead him to Charlotte Stone and the events in her life. From their individual points of view they both begin to wonder whether all these tragedies are somehow linked to a bigger picture. And if they are right, then who will be the next victim? Praise for Cambridge Blue: 'You are pulled in relentlessly as Bruce racks up the tension. Menacing and insidious, this is a great novel'. R. J. Ellory 'An exciting debut from a very promising new talent.'. Paul Johnstone

Alison Bruce is the author of 10 crime novels and two non-fiction titles. Her first novel, Cambridge Blue, was described by Publishers Weekly as an 'assured debut' and introduced both detective, DC Gary Goodhew, and her trademark Cambridge setting. She went on to write six further novels in the DC Goodhew series before writing two psychological thrillers I Did It for Us and The Moment Before Impact. Because She Looked Away is the first in a new series, again set in Cambridge but this time featuring DCI Ronnie Blake and the DEAD team. Alison herself lives just outside Cambridge and has been shortlisted twice for the CWA Dagger in the Library award.