When Nathan Hawk is fired from the police service, for breaking a fellow officer’s jaw, he wonders what he’ll do for the rest of his life. Write his memoirs, perhaps? Play endless golf? Become a Parish Councillor? None of them appeals, so he falls back on worrying about his four grown up children who are scattered across the world.

And then, just as he’s about to go mad with boredom and frustration, a neighbour in the village he’s retreated to does him the courtesy of getting himself murdered. It’s tragic, of course, but for Hawk it’s a lifesaver.

The local police warn him not to poke his nose into their inquiry, but that isn’t in his nature. Pretty soon he’s back doing what he’s best at - catching a killer.