ONE of the most idyllic towns in England, Shrewsbury is usually a sleepy place. But when the river bursts its banks, nature can reveal an ugly tale.

Coroner and single mother of two Martha Gunn is among the first to be called to the scene when a man's body is found floating, face down in rising water, which has flooded a small cottage fronting the River Severn.

In the damp, dark and fetid cottage, Martha's instincts tell her that this is a murder, a hunch borne out by the post mortem. But who is this man?

Although wearing the clothes of businessman James Humphries, who was renting the cottage, his wife Cressida is adamant it is not the body of her missing husband. Why has he been murdered and where has the real Mr Humphrey's gone?

A tense and gripping mystery, River Deep is the first in a series featuring Martha Gunn, set in the old market town of Shrewsbury.

River Deep by Priscilla Masters (Alison and Busby, £18.99)