The Shadows and the Dust
A Dr Jack Cuthbert Mystery
by Allan Gaw
£4.99
- Paperback
- E-Book
Reviews
This is the fourth case in a series that has quickly become essential reading. Allan Gaw is not only a former pathologist but a poet too: his plots explore questions of conscience as well as explicating crimes
The Times, Crime Book of the Month
A vital addition to the series... raises thought-provoking questions about sin, suicide, and social conditions in inter-war Britain
The Herald
Allan Gaw's crime novels have a fascinating lead in pathologist Jack Cuthbert
The Scotsman
Both distinctive and memorable... Allan Gaw has an intimate knowledge of the world his central character inhabits and perhaps the real trick he pulls off so successfully is immersing the reader in that world without ever overwhelming them in detail or jargon
Undiscovered Scotland
The great strength of the series is its technical detail. We follow Jack’s postmortem examinations step by step, test by test, finding out what they tell us about the victim and the crime, using only the techniques available in 1931... a strong and authentic medical setting
Historical Novels Society
About the Book
Sins never stay buried.
You may call it a sin; I say it was an act of desperation.
Like all pathologists, Cuthbert finds dealing with dead children the hardest part of his job. However, when the body of a young boy is found in the grounds of a church orphanage, Cuthbert not only has to steel himself for the task ahead, he is also forced to revisit his own childhood grief. The boy in his shallow grave has been interred with some ritual, but just how did he die? And why was he killed?
Working closely with his assistant and the team at Scotland Yard, Cuthbert slowly and painstakingly reveals the terrible truth.
The Author
Allan Gaw
Allan Gaw studied medicine at Glasgow University and trained as a pathologist. Having worked in the NHS and universities in the UK and the US, he took early retirement and now devotes his time to writing. His published non-fiction works include medical textbooks and magazine articles on topics as diverse as the thalidomide story, the medical challenges of space travel and the medico-legal consequences of the Hillsborough disaster.
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