Having relocated from Scotland Yard to the village of East Molesey in Surrey, Detective Inspector Rufus Stone is looking forward to a quieter life, away from the Metropolis, as well as the chance to spend more time with Amelie, the young woman who has captured his heart. However, he’s barely had time to unpack and settle in before one of his new colleagues is murdered. Sensing a link to the crimes that brought him back to East Molesey in the first place, Stone faces a difficult investigation of a village already traumatised by violent death and, as the case progresses, it becomes clear that the killer’s need for revenge has not yet been sated, and that Stone himself may be in mortal danger.

The Blackbird is the second in K. J. Frost’s Second World War detective stories, with a romantic twist, which ideally should be read in order.