The Verge Practice: A Brock and Kolla Mystery

Barry Maitland

Sep 2013 · Sold by Skyhorse

About this ebook

In The Verge Practice, Kathy Kolla and David Brock, Scotland Yard’s superlative detective duo, take on a puzzling case in the posh world of big-name international architecture, and it has them chasing red herrings and hopping fences from London to Barcelona.
Charles Verge, a powerful, cutting-edge architect, has disappeared into the blue, leaving behind his firm; his beloved—and pregnant—daughter; and his young and very dead wife. The case is stalled, and, after months of fruitless searching leaves the authorities desperate to save face, Detective Chief Inspector Brock and Detective Sergeant Kolla are called in.

All of London is abuzz with questions about the high-profile case, which will send Kolla and Brock to some less-than-scenic locales in Barcelona, and back to their own stomping ground—where suspicion of internal corruption comes much closer to home than they would like. As the investigation uncovers a dizzying web of possible suspects—including an ex-con gardener, a sinister doctor, and the missing Verge himself—it will reveal more than one crack in the shiny windows of the Verge practice’s sleek façade.

About the author

Barry Maitland was born in 1941 in Scotland. He is an Australian author of crime fiction. After studying architecture at Cambridge, Maitland practised and taught in the UK before moving to Australia, where he became a Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle. He later retired and began writing full-time. His titles include: All My Enemies, Babel, Spider Trap, Dark Mirror, and The Raven's Eye. He made the Ned Kelly 2015 shortlists in the category of Best Novel with his title Crucifixion Creek.