Philip Dryden, journalist for the local paper in the windswept fenland town of Ely, is on hand when a car
hauled from the river Lark yields up the grisly remains of a mutilated body frozen in a block of ice in the
boot. Shortly afterwards, a badly decomposed body is found astride a gargoyle on the roof of Ely cathedral
and it is not long before the local hacks and police are linking the two discoveries to a notorious and
violent robbery which took place in 1966 whilst most were absorbed in the World Cup final. Inextricably
bound up with Dryden's desire to solve the crimes is his need to lay to rest his own personal tragedy:
following an accident two years earlier when his own car was forced from a lonely drove road, who was it who
saved his life leaving his wife, a beautiful soap-opera star, to drown? As the investigation continues, the
threads linking the accident to the murders become ever more closely woven, the two mysteries coming together
in a violent and suspenseful denouement. Slippery and corrupt council officials and police rub shoulders with
seedy journalists and the whole gamut of criminals, from dubious car salesmen and builders to violent armed
robbers. But none are more compelling than the likeable Dryden and his unlikely sidekick Humph, the faithful
cab driver who ferries him around day and night with a seemingly endless supply of Campari miniatures in his
glovebox.

ABOUT THE READER
Raymond Sawyer studied at Hull University before training for the stage at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
He has appeared extensively in repertory and has toured with the RSC. His work on television includes The Bill,
Brookside and Three of a Kind for American TV. He has recorded over 60 audio books and currently lives in South
London with his wife Maralyn.

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