The Body Under The Sands is a highly original murder mystery set in the years after the First World War in the fictional northern seaside town of Birtleby.

Two soldiers recently returned from the Great War are spending their summer larking about, chasing girls, drinking, smoking, and forlornly trying to find gainful employment. Their lives are turned upside down when a girl is murdered on the seafront and they fall under suspicion.
The accusations against them snowball. They are convicted by a juggernaut of evidence, although most is circumstantial. But did they do it? Inspector Blades and seconded Scotland Yard investigator CI David Walker are pretty sure they did. And they are determined to make the men go down for the horrific crime.