The Trust

Based on factual events, The Trust is a crime thriller certain to grip you to the dramatic climax. In 1942, following experiments with Anthrax off the west coast of Scotland, a number of people on the mainland are infected and die. The bodies are taken away under cover of darkness. Present day. In the small town of Lancaster the site of a former mental asylum, Moorcastle, is being redeveloped. The discovery of a body halts the work and leads to an investigation led by British Detective Inspector Tom Ashton and his boss DCI Klavan. By the end of day one, the police have uncovered a host of bodies leading to one of the biggest inquiries in the small town's history and a media circus. But the story quickly catches the attention of the Ministry of Defence and the bodies disappear, again under cover of darkness, with orders that the investigation be dropped prompting cries of a conspiracy. Rhiannon Lily Saxby hates her name and her job. Her medical studies were cut short by a horrific car crash following a long shift at the hospital. Now she fills her days working at the Equipment Service for the Primary Care Trust. Her childhood was effectively ended when her mother was sectioned to Moorcastle Asylum, leaving her terrified of such institutions and delighted that the disused facility is being demolished. As a medical student Rhiannon heard many stories about the abuse of patients in asylums and has long wondered if her own mother suffered while she was a patient but has never dared ask. Her world is further rocked when her manager hints that members of the Primary Care Trust may be involved in a conspiracy to end the lives of patients to ease their suffering. The discovery of the body of a young woman keeps the media spotlight firmly fixed on the small town and on DI Tom Ashton. DCI Klavan, Tom's boss, is also struck by similarities to another body found a year earlier in a neighbouring district, prompting speculation that a serial killer may be at work. As the pressure on DI Tom Ashton to catch the serial killer increases it becomes clear that the Trust is at the heart of everything. Can Rhiannon find evidence of patient abuse within the records of the Trust to support her suspicions and uncover the conspiracy? Is there a secret society operating within the Trust who are playing God with the lives of patients? With the body count rising can Tom Ashton stop the serial killer before he strikes again?