Blood Traces

*First published as THE CLEARING in 2023*

From the author of the Sanctus series comes a brilliant new serial killer thriller featuring forensic specialist Dr Laughton Rees and Detective Inspector Tannahill Khan

‘The ending is genuinely one of the most jaw-dropping ones I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely superb.’ M.W. Craven

‘Unnerved me to my core’ Sam Holland

‘Scared the bloody daylights out of me. The very definition of haunting’ Helen Fields

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Maddie Friar is missing

And she isn’t the first.

Women have been going missing around the forest of Dean for decades. Residents usually dismiss the disappearances as runaways.

Maddie Friar's sister, Adele, is frantically searching but local police are no help.

Only forensic criminologist Laughton Rees might know the truth.

There is something dark lurking in this town. Something deadly.

Reviews

‘Nail-biting and as haunting as the forest itself.’ Daily Mail

‘Everything you would expect from a thriller and then some’ Central Bylines

‘Beginning with a creepy abduction that unnerved me to my core, The Clearing follows an unsettling case where old myths and new greed collide. A welcome return for Laughton Rees and DCI Tannahill, getting to know them again as they reach the next stage of their budding relationship.’ Sam Holland

‘Scared the bloody daylights out of me. The very definition of haunting. Toyne is a guru of suspense writing, and this is him at the top of his craft. Makes for a breath-taking read.’ Helen Fields

‘Simon Toyne is one of the best storytellers writing today, but even by his high standards, The Clearing is something really special. In a story where not everything is as it seems, and as creeping death stalks the claustrophobic Forest of Dean, the returning Laughton Rees desperately searches for a missing girl, unaware that there are much bigger things at stake than the maybe-not-a-myth Cinderman. The pacing is frantic but not rushed, the tension is almost unbearable, and the ending is genuinely one of the most jaw-dropping ones I’ve read in a long time. Absolutely superb.’ M.W. Craven

‘In the spirit of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta… Toyne makes the most of her creepy setting, and effectively conceals the truth behind the legend of the Cinderman until she’s ready to reveal it. Everything here suggests that Rees merits a long series run.’ Publisher’s Weekly

‘THE CLEARING is a spine-chilling, creepy-suspenseful mystery masterpiece! … This book had me hooked right to the end. I loved it!’ Steph Broadribb

About the author

Simon Toyne is the bestselling author of the Sanctus trilogy: Sanctus, The Key and The Tower. He wrote Sanctus after quitting his job as a TV executive to focus on writing. It was the biggest selling debut thriller of 2011 in the UK and an international bestseller. His books have been translated into 27 languages and published in over 50 countries.

Solomon Creed is the first in a new series of epic thrillers that will span the world and centre around the enigmatic title character.

Simon lives with his family in Brighton and the South of France.