Bastard Verdict

YOU DON'T NEED TO WIN, JUST DON'T LOSE
In politics, people cheat to win, or because they're afraid to lose. Which isn't always the same thing. A second Scottish Independence referendum looms, an unlikely investigator uncovers meddling in the first, and desperate conspirators panic, with deadly results. Bastard Verdict weaves high stakes and low politics into a noir tale of power, loss and Faustian bargains.

When a Scottish government official enlists FBI Elections Specialist, Imogen Trager (on research leave at the University of Glasgow) in the fall of 2023 to look into the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum—ostensibly as a means of ensuring that a possible second referendum will be conducted fairly—he claims that he wants an outsider's unencumbered view. The trail Imogen follows becomes twisted and deadly, leading to a corrupt cabal intent on holding on to power. As Trager gathers clues pointing to nefarious efforts made to ensure a No vote, the suspicious deaths of the two men who'd begun the investigation put her and Scottish lawyer Ewan Johnston next in the firing line.