After the Fire

Constable Jamie Worth, a newly qualified Strathclyde firearms officer, views himself as a “John Wayne sharpshooter with a Glasgow swagger,” but after he shoots Sarah Brisbane, an unarmed teenager fleeing a domestic disturbance, his life and the lives of his wife, Cath, and their children, devolve into chaos in this searing sequel to Campbell's The Twilight Time . Jamie's marriage was already strained by an affair with Insp. Anna Cameron, a former associate who becomes a U.K. representative on the U.N.'s Police and Justice Task Force for three months in New York. After failing to secure a long-term appointment, Anna returns to Glasgow only to learn of Jamie's murder conviction. Despite their mutual distaste, Anna and Cath join forces to prove Jamie's innocence. Campbell deftly explores the horrifying repercussions of a botched investigation and a miscarriage of justice. The heart-wrenching portrait of Sarah, who was caught in a nasty web of family abuse, adds to the book's power. (Feb.)