Lovesey, Peter
"On a fateful July morning in 2015
a riot takes hold of Her Majesty's Prison in Bream
Gloucestershire
with fatal consequences. The staff is caught completely off-guard--their supervising warden
Governor Magda Lyle
hasn't shown up for work
and the prisoners are able to start a fire that nearly results in a mass escape. Three years later and forty miles south
a most controversial wedding is about to take place in Bath's gorgeous Abbey
with a reception to follow in the famous Roman Baths. The daughter of career criminal mastermind Joe Irving--only just released from a long stint in prison--is getting hitched to the son of Deputy Chief Constable George Brace
one of the highest-ranking cops in all of Avon & Somerset. A more uncomfortable group of in-laws would be hard to imagine
but worse
charismatic and incorrigible Joe Irving has many enemies on "the outside
" including more than one hard man hell-bent on settling accounts for the role the father of the bride played in the fateful Bream prison riot. There have been credible threats on Joe Irving's life since his release
and the wedding presents a high-profile opportunity for a hit attempt. The distressed DCC Brace retains detective Peter Diamond and his team to run security on the big day
hoping they can avert catastrophe. Joe Irving may be the arch enemy of every cop in southwest England
but they can't let him be killed at his daughter's wedding. Diamond is infuriated by the assignment
which becomes more and more impossible with every new fact he learns about the players and the logistics. Can Diamond pull off a miracle and keep the entire party alive until the couple is safely on their honeymoon?"--