Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s unsolved disappearance. Now pushing fifty, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful post in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled in when the body of a teacher is discovered… with strange symbols carved into her skin.
Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. But she’s forced to tear up her shortlist when they discover another slain victim with the same cryptic markings…
Has Ruth got what it takes to solve the case before the next deadly bell rings?
Simon McCleave is a multi million-selling crime novelist who lives in North Wales with his wife and two children.
Before he was an author, Simon worked as a script editor at the BBC and a producer at Channel 4 before working as a story analyst in Los Angeles. He then became a script writer, writing on series such as Silent Witness, The Bill, EastEnders and many more. His Channel 4 film Out of the Game was critically acclaimed and described as ‘an unflinching portrayal of male friendship’ by Time Out.
His first book, The Snowdonia Killings, was released in January 2020 and soon became an Amazon Bestseller, reaching No 1 in the UK Chart and selling over 400,000 copies. His twenty one subsequent novels in the DI Ruth Hunter Snowdonia Series have all been Amazon bestsellers, with most of them hitting the top of the digital charts. He has sold over 3.5 million books to date.
The Dark Tide, Simon’s first book in an Anglesey based crime series for publishing giant Harper Collins (Avon), was a major hit in 2022, becoming the highest selling Waterstone’s Welsh Book of the Month ever.
In 2025, Simon released a new series of books featuring a retried detective, Frank Marshal.
Simon has also written two one-off psychological thrillers for Storm Publishing. Last Night at Villa Lucia was a major hit, The Times describing it as ‘…well above the usual seasonal villa thriller…’ with its ‘…empathetic portrayal of lives spent in the shadow of coercion and abuse.’
Simon currently has a police television series based in Wrexham in development.
