In 1984, Jean Road, a 49-year-old mother of three, awakes at home in Bath, Somerset and wonders where her 17-year-old daughter Melanie can be. Her bed hasn't been slept in. Just then, Jean and her husband Tony hear someone shouting through a loudspeaker: ‘DOES ANYONE KNOW MELANIE?'
Jean runs to the police car outside only to discover that her daughter has been murdered in a nearby street as she walked home from a club in the early hours. Britain's biggest manhunt begins. A trail of blood is found leading from the scene. It's a rare blood type and later becomes known to officers as ‘green blood'. Despite a yearlong inquiry and 94 arrests, the inquiry is wound down. No-one's charged with Melanie's murder.
Twenty-five years later, Detective Sergeant Julie Mackay transfers to Avon & Somerset Police's Cold Case Unit. She's a 41-year-old single mother of three who has been overlooked for promotion for years. There is to be a Crimewatch TV feature to mark the 25th anniversary of this murder: The Killing of Melanie Road. In the police warehouse, Julie unearths a file from the original inquiry and becomes hooked by the details: The trail of blood, Bath on a Summer's night, the investigative wrong-turns… she takes on the case, works tirelessly to rebuild it, working closely with Melanie's grieving family, and in 2015… she solves it.
Dubbed a real-life Jane Tennison, Julie has one of the most distinctive voices in modern day policing. Written in collaboration with ITV Crime Correspondent Rob Murphy, her determination, quirkiness and humour shine from the page.
For fans of Unforgotten and Prime Suspect, this compelling book follows a tragic case… but a case that become far more than a murder. It's a story of love, family, friendship and persistence.
