A young girl finds an eyeball in a bird's nest days after a prominent family goes missing from Blackhampton in the British Midlands. Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Nevil Hammersmith of the newly formed Murder Squad out of Scotland Yard are sent to help the local constable locate the family. Not everyone though wants outsiders interfering in the small village's secrets. With every secret they expose, the risks grow that they'll never leave Blackhampton alive.

THE BLACK COUNTRY By Alex Grecian is a superbly crafted mystery with an atmosphere of foreboding that hangs in the air like coal dust. The historical setting is richly detailed, striking, and utterly fantastic. The sinking mining village of Blackhampton is sharply descriptive and peopled by a hard-working and close-knit community. But even the closest of communities harbor secrets, and every character is hiding a piece of truth that could help solve the mystery. As Day and Hammersmith investigate the disappearance of the family, they unmask the horrors hidden within the village. Grecian captures the current of fear that hangs over the village as they search for the missing. The longer the family is missing, more palpable the fear becomes in the small village's actions.

THE BLACK COUNTRY will keep your reading, tense and anxious, as it sweeps you through to the stunning conclusion.

THE BLACK COUNTRY is the second book in the Scotland Yard's Murder Squad series by Alex Grecian. Grecian balances the chilling horror of human actions with a fast-paced mystery that will not let you go until long after you've turned the last page. This is an excellent mystery and I can't wait to read more in this stellar series.