The Shortest Days of the Year: The Grace den Herder Trilogy: Volume 2

Grace Den Herder returns in the second part of the trilogy, promoted to Superintendent in the in the specialist crime and counter terrorism directorate in the new Scottish police force structure. The story surrounds the return to Belfast of Billy Nelson. Brought up in the Shankill and scarred by the Troubles, he joins the army and, after distinguished service, he is discharged after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He returns to his loyalist roots, but Belfast and the people he knew have changed. Responsible for a series of violent attacks on innocent victims, he is ordered out of the city and moves to Edinburgh with his team. Nelson moves into the drugs business in Edinburgh and takes on the family who have been the main players in the city for years. The result is a series of events where Glasgow and Belfast criminals battle for control, upsetting the balance of power among the underworld. They attract attention from the police and Grace den Herder takes on the case. The old demons of the Troubles come back to haunt her again. The rest of the story is the complicated manoeuvring between the various factions including the Police in Scotland, PSNI and the Security Services who have an interest in Nelson and his paramilitary contacts in Belfast. The subsequent events unleash a series of unforeseen events and a trail of victims.