Moorland Forensics – Devil’s Realm
The
MOORLAND FORENSICS
Series
Synopsis
On a searing summer’s day on an idyllic beach in South Devon, a young boy plunges to a horrific death from the overlanding cliffs, the tragic event graphically captured on film by the enigmatic Salcombe painter and entrepreneur Lois St John.
Five years later, the boy’s father suffers the identical fate at the same location. Called to the scene, Moorland Forensic Consultants uncover a prophetic link between Liam Mercer’s fatal fall and a controversial painting of his son’s death titled ‘Falling Memories’.
James, Fiona and Katie Sinclair draw upon their professional expertise as a string of mysterious deaths follow. They uncover a web of corruption and foul play, which leads to the very top of the judicial system and the international art world.
Moorland Forensics work in conjunction with DCI Mick Rose and high-profile Home Office forensic practitioner Nick Shelby to uncover the truth behind the murders, all set within the stunning landscape of the Salcombe Coast and the South Hams.
Preface
July 12th, 2013
Mill Bay Beach, South Devon presented a hive of activity. Tourists and locals revelled in a rare burst of warm summer weather, truly welcome following a long drawn out winter. The sun danced on pristine waters creating a mystic vista; scattered strato-cirrus clouds hung motionless, suspended kilometres above in a hazy sky.
A small passenger launch hummed rhythmically on its short journey across the shallow waters from Salcombe, its impertinent two-stroke beat echoing along the green-blue divide.
Sonia Mercer scanned the beach for her son, anxious to locate him amongst the hedonistic throng. Her eyes swept the stark, foreboding cliffs on this stretch of coastline, embedded in folklore for their entrapment of the unwary.
For a fleeting moment, an alien sensation rippled over her, the ominous crash of thunder sounded far out to sea; a portent of predictable late afternoon storms brewing down Channel.
At first upon hearing the scream, everyone thought the young lad was having fun until they saw him plunge from the cliff face on to the jagged rocks below. A few people watched in horror; others looked away. It occurred in the blink of an eye; yet, rolled out like a slow-motion replay.
That day on the East Portlemouth beaches was one artist Lois St John would never forget. As events unfolded instinct prompted her to keep her finger pressed firmly on the auto shutter of her Leica. She captured the event on film and eventually one of those photographs became a celebrated painting “Falling Memories”.