The Blame: The most unexpected and gripping crime thriller debut of 2023. A girl found murdered. A town torn apart. A police force in disgrace.

Green turned to grey as night approached. A wall of officers in high-vis jackets emerged from the trees, an army
of neon advancing onto the field. There was no barking from the sniffer dogs, no chatter. Just a deep, searching silence.

Erin looked at her phone. 10:23. Over nine hours now since Sophie had gone missing...

When Detective Inspector Erin Crane is put in charge of the investigation into the murder of local teenager Sophie Madson, she knows she has been given the case of a lifetime. But her own secrets – including a love affair with her partner – threaten to spill into the open as the investigations deepens, putting her reputation on the line and the case in jeopardy. Just when Erin thinks she has things under control, new evidence emerges that turns the investigation upside down.

Dashcam footage from a local driver shows Sophie Madson leaving in the car of a police detective, just an hour before she died. More and more twists emerge that send Erin further from everything she thought she could trust.