The Scholar

'Dervla McTiernan has rocked the crime fiction world with good reason. Taut, tense and darkly addictive. A treat for lovers of fine crime writing.' - Candice Fox

Being brilliant has never been this dangerous ...

When Dr Emma Sweeney stumbles across the victim of a hit and run outside Galway University late one evening, she calls her partner, Detective Cormac Reilly, bringing him first to the scene of a murder that would otherwise never have been assigned to him. A security card in the dead woman's pocket identifies her as Carline Darcy, a gifted student and heir apparent to Irish pharmaceutical giant Darcy Therapeutics. The multi-billion-dollar company, founded by her grandfather, has a finger in every pie, from sponsoring university research facilities to funding political parties to philanthropy - it has funded Emma's own ground-breaking research. The enquiry into Carline's death promises to be high profile and high pressure.

As Cormac investigates, evidence mounts that the death is linked to a Darcy laboratory and, increasingly, to Emma herself. Cormac is sure she couldn't be involved, but as his running of the case comes under scrutiny from the department and his colleagues, he is forced to question his own objectivity. Could his loyalty to Emma have led him to overlook evidence? Has it made him a liability?

PRAISE FOR THE SCHOLAR

'Atmospheric and beautifully paced, with nuanced characters and a gripping plot - The Scholar has it all.' - Chris Hammer

'This is top-notch crime writing - fast, clever, surprising, and psychologically acute. I can only wish Dervla could write as fast as I can read!' - Kate Forsyth

'The Scholar is a gripping follow-up to McTiernan's debut crime novel The Ruin, featuring the enigmatic DS Cormac Reilly ... The Scholar is a tightly plotted, fast-paced read with enough twists to keep you guessing right to the end.' - Better Homes & Gardens

'Another thrilling tale that delivers on all the promise of McTiernan's debut - not to be missed.' - Readings Monthly