Three times under the water: in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but then they must die. They’ll thank him for it one day because when they finally open their eyes they will see the glory of heaven…He kills because he cares.

Matt Hunter is a disgraced ex-vicar turned atheist. Now he’s a Professor of Sociology, writing a book debunking religious faith. He’s also an expert in religion and cults, who sometimes helps the Met with religiously-motivated crimes. When his architect wife, Wren, is invited to tender for a church renovation project in Hobbs Hill, Oxfordshire, the family decide to make a holiday of it. The village is idyllic, with a serene lake and beautiful waterfall. But Matt is instantly suspicious of the wooden crosses that hang in shop windows and homes. And what are the bizarre therapy sessions being run by the church on the hill? The holiday takes a darker turn, when he helps out with a search for a missing anorexic, teenage girl. When a second woman disappears, and then a third, Matt must draw on his theological knowledge to protect his family and catch a killer. But who keeps sending him pictures of the victims, even before the police know they’re missing?

Purged is the first novel in a gripping and unique crime thriller series about a man solving religious crime while wrestling with questions of his own abandoned faith.

‘Where Laws really excels, though, is in the moments when he’s aiming to chill the reader… a book that is nigh impossible to put down and will leave the reader hooked from start to finish.’
Starburst Magazine

‘Welcome to the future of crime chiller fiction – Purged is a spooky murder-em-up which comes on with massively unsettling supernatural elements that feel like James Herbert at his best… I haven’t been this creeped out by a novel since Let The Right One In’
Darkmatters

‘An engaging debut.’
Daily Mail

‘A devilishly cunning and creepily macabre murder mystery.’
Peterborough Evening Telegraph

‘Gripping, utterly riveting.’
Liz Loves Books

‘An absolute corker.’
For Winter Nights

‘Compelling…keeps us blindsided until the last few pages.’
Fully Booked

‘Bimey, this was wickedly good…Matt Hunter is a character I can’t wait to see again soon!’
Little Bookness Lane

‘A dark, fast moving, psychologically thoughtful gem…A whole new take on the ‘troubled cop’ genre mixing dark, light and more dark into a riveting gripper. Peter Laws is a real find.’
Sunday Sport