ROZ WATKINS is the author of the DI Meg Dalton crime series, which is set in the Peak District where Roz lives with her partner and a menagerie of demanding animals.
Her first book, The Devil’s Dice, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award, and has been optioned for TV.
Roz studied engineering at Cambridge University before training in patent law. She was a partner in a firm of patent attorneys in Derby, but this has absolutely nothing to do with there being a dead one in her first novel.
In her spare time, Roz likes to walk in the Peak District, scouting out murder locations.
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First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019
Copyright © Roz Watkins 2019
Roz Watkins asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © April 2019 ISBN: 9780008214661
‘The Devil’s Dice is a terrific debut by Roz Watkins; it teems with shivery atmosphere and introduces a cop quietly different from most of the women detectives in British crime fiction today.’
The Times Crime Book of the Month
‘A touch of Agatha Christie, a dash of Ann Cleeves’s Vera and a suitably moody setting in the Peaks . . . bring a formidable newcomer to British crime writing.’
Daily Mail
‘A fascinating debut . . . Watkins brilliantly balances superstition and scepticism in this clever first novel.’
Sunday Times
‘A fabulous book. I can’t wait to meet DI Meg Dalton again.’
B A Paris
‘An outstanding debut. The Devil’s Dice had me gripped from the start.’
Stephen Booth
‘Twisty, creepy, funny, and you may shed a tear too. More DI Meg Dalton please!’
Caz Frear
‘A page-turning debut featuring a fabulous lead character.’
Susi Holliday
‘A fascinating debut with a deliciously old school mystery at its heart. I can’t wait to see what Watkins does next!’
Angela Clarke
‘A pacy, twisty read that had me on the edge of my seat . . . what a brilliant debut!’
K.L. Slater
‘Exceptional debut. Beautifully written and observed crime novel, with such well-rounded maturity it was a pleasure to read from start to finish. Glad it is a series so that we all have a lot more to look forward to.’
Amanda Robson
For Rob.
(I still think we could have got away with a talking dog.)
Contents
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28