Come To Harm
 

8th May 2015

For Keiko Nishisato, leaving Tokyo to study in Scotland was supposed to be the adventure, but it’s living above a butcher’s shop in the quiet little town of Painchton that shows her how far she is from home.

She has never met friendlier people than the Painchton Traders: they pinch her cheeks, fill her fridge, lay on feasts for every occasion. Only the Pooles, the butchers downstairs, want to keep their distance.  Teasing, charming Murray Poole attracts her right away. Mrs Poole puzzles her – is there more than recent widowhood behind all that sadness?  And then there’s Malcolm. Massive and brooding, always watching, he hints at something dark behind the bustle and banter of this strange little town.

For such a settled place, a lot of young women seem to leave. And Keiko is not the only one who knows it. Anonymous letters threaten to let the secrets out, but the more Keiko discovers the less she believes, until she can’t tell where her fears end and the real nightmares begin.