Touched by the Dead [Paperback]

‘Robert Barnard is always original, never repeats himself and has a delectable wit’
Jessica Mann, Daily Telegraph

‘He plots a mystery as well as any writer alive’
Time Magazine

‘Barnard never disappoints. The psychological suspense is chilling’
The Times

The latest subtle and absorbing mystery from Robert Barnard, a leading British crime writer who ‘has the habit of delighting his readers’ – Donna Leon, Sunday Times

Those two days in May seem to be a highpoint in Colin Pinnock’s life: a stunning election victory, a new govenment, and junior office for himself. But among the many congratulations he receives is one hostile message, a grubby card asking: ‘Who do you think you are?’ Is this merely someone putting him back in his place, or do the words have a more profound meaning? Who, indeed, is he? And who were his real parents?
As Colin investigates these questions he is led back in time to an old political scandal: a murder case which led to a politician’s downfall and disappearance. Events in the present, however, start tangling with those of the past, and he finds himself the object of a series of incidents that at first seem designed to bring down his career with ridicule, but later actually threaten his life.
A beautifully written, intriguing mystery in which past crimes come back to haunt today’s innocents.

Those two days in May seem to be a high point in Colin Pinnock's life: a stunning election victory, a new government, and junior office for himself. But among the many congratulations he receives is one hostile message, a grubby card asking, 'Who do you think you are?' Is this merely someone putting him back in his place, or do the words have a more profound meaning? And who, indeed, is he? Who were he real parents?

As Colin investigates these questions he is led back in time to an old political scandal: a murder case which ended with a politician's downfall and disappearance. Events in the present, however, start tangling with those of the past, and he finds himself the object of a series of incidents that at first seem designed to bring down his career with ridicule, but later actually threaten his life.

'Barnard specialises in literate, beautifully crafted, civilised entertainments and this is no exception.'
THE TIMES

'Genial and ingenious; never less entertaining'
LITERARY REVIEW

'Imaginative and appealing'
YORKSHIRE POST

Robert Barnard was born and brought up in Essex. After leaving Oxford he worked as a university lecturer in New South Wales, and then taught in Norwegian universities for seventeen years, returning to England in 1983 to write full time. He and his wife now live in Leeds.