Dead Secret // Murder in Wolfcleugh Woods — Roy Lewis

What appears to be a simple land dispute turns deadly in this smart new mystery that takes archaeologist Arnold Landon to the ancient Pentire Woods in rural Northumberland and calls upon all his considerable intelligence and abundant knowledge of history before a baffling case of murder yields its solution. The announcement that the long unsullied and unpolluted Pentire Woods have been designated as the site for a highway bypass has already set a series of disturbing events in motion by the time Landon arrives. Two people adamantly opposed to a plan that will destroy the wood are the landowner himself and an archaeologist eager to explore the peat bog where the ancient, perfectly preserved body of the "Wolf Man" has been discovered. Summoned to assess the archaeological value of the site, Landon and his colleague, Portia, find themselves walking a tightrope between the developers, the politicians, the owner, and the inevitable protesters against ecological damage. When one of the protesters is found dead, Landon and Portia also find themselves dealing with murder. Their investigation ratchets up, as does the suspense, and much more is at stake in this adroitly crafted tale than the fate of the Pentire Woods.