A secret buried beneath the chapel. A killer who’s waited decades to strike.

DCI Brendan Moran shouldn’t be back on duty. The Irish detective is barely holding it together after a crash that nearly killed him—when a body is discovered in the chapel at Charnford Abbey.

The monks won’t talk. A centuries-old relic has vanished. And when another man turns up dead, it’s clear someone will kill to keep the past hidden.

But Moran has problems of his own. A new sergeant who might be a spy. A brother spiraling into alcoholism under his roof. Narcoleptic blackouts that could end his career—or his life. And a troubled past that won’t stay buried, forged in the shadows of 1970s Ireland.

As winter closes in and the abbey’s past comes violently to light, Moran must reckon with the cost of truth—and how much he’s willing to lose to uncover it.

Because this case might do what the crash couldn’t—finish him.

Black December is the gripping first entry in The Irish Detective: DCI Brendan Moran series—perfect for fans of atmospheric British detective fiction, flawed heroes, and crime stories that cut deep.

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Praise for The Irish Detective: DCI Brendan Moran series:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ So many twists and turns that I could hardly put it down.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Gripped by the grizzled Irish detective.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Well-written, tight plotting and pacing, snappy dialogue, well-developed, likeable characters, and a cracking good mystery.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Great British Mystery!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ He’s honest and upstanding… He has a line he won’t cross, even though he comes close from time to time.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Vivid descriptions and clever plotting. Crisp dialogue.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A really great read in a genre I love—the atmospheric British murder mystery!

Author Biography

Scott Hunter was born in Romford, Essex. His writing career was kick-started after he won first prize in the Sunday Express Short Story Competition. He divides his time between writing and drumming. He has recorded with internationally renowned rock band ‘Jethro Tull’ and appeared in concert with 70’s popsters ‘Mungo Jerry’.

He is currently working on his fifteenth novel and has recently published ‘In the Key of Death’, number ten in the popular DCI Brendan Moran crime series. The first five books in the series have also been released in audiobook format.

He was long listed for the Times/Chicken House Children’s Novel Competition for ‘The Ley Lines of Lushbury’ and won the Sunday Express Short Story Competition a few years back for his historical entry set in the English Civil War. His second novel, ‘The Trespass’ is a top 20 Amazon Bestseller. He was shortlisted for the 2016 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Margery Allingham short story competition, and was selected as the winner of the 2022 Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Margery Allingham short story competition. His winning entry, ‘Locked In’ can be read via the CWA Website’s Margery Allingham page.

Scott Hunter lives in Berkshire with his wife Katherine and his two youngest children