Lost Cause -Ed James

The only one who can find Mark's daughter? The cop who just divorced him

Mark Campbell is in deep trouble. His latest book is five years late and his recent divorce has cleaned him out. Worse, his debts with Vic Hebden aren't exactly the kind you consolidate into one easy payment. And he's missed three.

But Mark has a plan — finish his novel, then pay Hebden off with the advance. His student daughter, Kay, is spending her summer holiday researching locations in the far north of Scotland, ahead of a father-daughter holiday.

Desperate to add her research to his book, the hotel calls — Kay has run off, leaving a big bill, her phone and a copy of Mark's last book, BREAK THE CHAIN.

There's only one person to turn to — his ex, Olivia. Kay's stepmother. A Glasgow cop still angry at their recent divorce.

As they hunt the Scottish Highlands for his daughter, Mark starts to realise Kay's disappearance could have something to do with BREAK THE CHAIN, the novel where his research exposed a cult founder's real life sexual abuse.

Has Kay run away from Mark? Does Hebden have her? Or could Kay have succumbed to the clutches of someone from the cult? And can Mark and Olivia save her in time?

LOST CAUSE is a standalone psychological thriller from the bestselling author of the Cullen, Fenchurch and Dodds series, perfect for fans of Mark Edwards, Linwood Barclay and Harlan Coben.
"A storming novel, so packed full of tension that I read it in a day."
— Mark Edwards, bestselling author of The Magpies, Follow You Home and The Hollows.

"Steeped in Scottish history & buried secrets, an unputdownable rollercoaster of a read."
— Steph Broadribb, bestselling author of Death in the Sunshine.

"A tense, pacy delight of a thriller that unfolds in ways you'd never expect — I loved it"
— Susi Holliday, bestselling author of The Last Resort and The Hike.