Plot

A former religious fanatic who deliberately tried to kill an outspoken atheist in a car crash but only succeeded in disabling his daughter is murdered.

Steven Mullan, a former religious maniac who served time for running atheist writer Tom Rattenbury off the road, disabling Tom's daughter Jessica in the process, is murdered. Or rather his flatmate, who swapped identities with him to escape the wrath of his lover's husband, is. Then the real Steven Mullan is killed and Tom commits suicide, claiming he killed both lads. But Tom had an alibi and Jessica and Steven were closer than anybody guessed. Who has engineered the cover-up?—don @ minifie-1

A man is murdered and identified as Steven Mullan. Years earlier Mullan, in a fit of religious zealotry, tried to run down a renowned atheist, Tom Rattenbury, only to disable his young daughter who now uses a wheelchair. Suspicion immediately falls on Rattenbury and, to a lesser extent, his son and wife but their alibis check out. Then there's a twist in the identity of the victim.—grantss

DI Lewis and DS Hathaway investigate the murder of Steven Mullan, who was forcibly pushed into a very hot bath. Mullan had been convicted a few years earlier of drinking and driving, resulting in a serious accident and a prison sentence. Mullan was out to kill Tom Rattenbury, a well-known and published atheist but it was his daughter Jessica at the wheel and as a result of her injuries is now uses a wheelchair. Her parents claim to have put it all behind them and her brother Daniel claims to have been with his girlfriend Hope Ransome, an American student who happens to be the daughter of the US Secretary of State. When it turns out that Mullan and his roommate, Alex Hadley, swapped identities the investigation is quickly back to square one. The investigation reveals the real Alex Hadley was having an affair with a married woman but a second murder and a suicide only adds to the confusion.—garykmcd