One body. A wall of silence. And secrets worth killing for.

When a schoolteacher’s body is found in a Sussex stream, local police are quick to call it a tragic accident.

Rowan Whitecross isn’t convinced.

Medically retired from the Metropolitan Police after losing seven months of his memory, Whitecross has returned to the village of Wadhurst hoping for a quieter life. But when he's asked to take a closer look at the case, small details refuse to line up: a missing phone, unexplained injuries, and a community determined not to ask questions.

As Whitecross digs deeper, he uncovers a wall of silence surrounding an elite boys' school, a buried allegation that should never have been ignored, and secrets that powerful people will do anything to protect.

With time running out and lives at risk, Whitecross must confront not only a dangerous conspiracy, but the parts of his own past he's been trying to outrun.

Murder on Rookwood Road is the second British crime thriller in the Rowan Whitecross series, perfect for readers who enjoy slow-burn tension, morally complex investigations, village mysteries, and detectives who refuse to look away.