March 1732, and Leeds is suffering from the most brutal winter any can recall. The rolls of the dead grow longer, the wealthy hoard their money and power, and the poor struggle just to survive. Richard Nottingham, Constable of the City of Leeds, is lost in grief for the death of his daughter, taken by the bitter cold. But the discovery of a corpse of a wealthy wool merchant, his throat cut and the skin stripped from its back, drags him harshly into the present. Why would a killer want the man’s flesh? That’s what Nottingham can’t comprehend. But when he does discover the gruesome answer, it hurls him up against a killer determined to settle old scores. Even as winter claims more victims and Nottingham and his family try to piece together their shattered lives, the Constable and his men desperately chase a ruthless murderer.

Now out in hardback and as an ebook.

Listen to an excerpt from Cold Cruel Winter 

Buy Cold Cruel Winter from Amazon, or from Book Depository, which is cheaper as offers free shipping worldwide.

Read an interview here.

Cold Cruel Winter has been named one of the 10 Best Mysteries of 2011 by Library Journal.

Cold Cruel Winter is now available everywhere as an ebook, for all formats.

A rave review – starred – for Cold Cruel Winter from Publisher’s Weekly, which calls it “a superb follow-up to 2010’s The Broken Token” and says “Nickson, who does an excellent job depicting an honest, damaged policeman trying to seek justice at a time when influence trumps truth, may yet join the front rank of historical mystery writers.” Read the reviewhere.

Another good review for the book from Booklist, which praises the “vividly realized historical background, and the well-drawn characters and sharp dialogue.”

Now Kirkus Reviews adds that “follow-up to Broken Token (2010) is an exciting tale that explores the vast gulf between the rich and poor while delivering a
first-rate mystery.”