Detectives are led up the garden path when a clever scam turns fatal.

Down-on-his-luck businessman Tam McDonnell thinks he may have rescued his ailing pub when a local man comes good on his promise to fill the venue with punters in exchange for a percentage of the takings. That's until he discovers a newly hired barmaid dead in the toilets....

DI Charlie West's team struggle to find a motive. Clearly murdered, if the corkscrew in her neck is anything to go by, the victim was loved by all who knew her and apparently led a squeaky-clean life—cleaner than the toilet, at any rate.

Whilst they are puzzling over the case and trying to track down witnesses, the detectives are presented with a new problem. A string of unusual robberies have been occurring in the Scottish coastal town of Ayr. Shop owners have suddenly passed out only to come round and find that luxury goods have gone walkabout.

With the pressure on, West makes some good calls. But it is only when sagacious retired DI James Munro adds his tuppence worth that the penny will finally drop.

Ruse is the thirteenth book in this bestselling murder mystery series set on the west coast of Scotland. It can be enjoyed as a standalone or alongside the other books.