Blood Work

Karin Slaughter

Three people with something to hide. One killer with nothing to lose.

When Atlanta police detective Michael Ormewood is called out to a murder scene at the notorious Grady Homes, he finds himself faced with one of the most brutal killings of his career: Aleesha Monroe is found in the stairwell in a pool of her own blood, her body horribly mutilated.

As a one-off killing it's shocking, but when it becomes clear that it's just the latest in a series of similar attacks, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are called in, and Michael is forced into working with Special Agent Will Trent of the Criminal Apprehension Team – a man he instinctively dislikes.

Twenty-four hours later, the violence Michael sees around him every day explodes in his own back yard. And it seems the mystery behind Monroe's death is inextricably entangled with a past that refuses to stay buried . . .

'This is without doubt an accomplished, compelling and complex tale, with page-turning power aplenty' Daily Express

'Criminally spectacular' OK!

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Live Flesh

Ruth Rendell

Why did he do it? Why had it happened? What sort of fiend was he? Why should Victor Jenner, the child of happily-married, middle-class parents, succumb to such violent rages? Why should he have needed to make motiveless attacks on women? Victor didn't know.

But Victor did know that the last ten years – the years in prison – had been a mistake. He had never intended to harm anyone. It had all been an accident. In fact, his life had been a series of accidents, one mistake leading to the next.

Now, out of prison at last, Victor still isn't free. The past holds him so he can't go forward. So Victor goes back – and begins a chain of accidents, a new string of tragic mistakes.

'Powerfully claustrophobic'

Guardian

'Ruth Rendell shows an unparalleled understanding of human evil'

The Sunday Times

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The Skin Gods

Richard Montanari

Philadelphia is blistering in the summer heat and detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano prowl the streets with growing unease. Suddenly, a series of crimes shatters the restless city. A beautiful secretary is slashed to death in a grimy motel shower; a street hustler brutally murdered with a chainsaw. Piece by piece, a sickening puzzle presents itself: someone is recreating famous Hollywood murder scenes and inserting the clips into videos – for an unsuspecting public to find.

Investigations reveal a violent world of underground film, pornography and seedy nightclubs, hidden to all but the initiated. None of The Actor's victims are as innocent as they appear, though, and Kevin and Jessica soon discover they're not just chasing a homicide suspect. They are stalking evil itself . . .

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Cold Light

John Harvey

Forty-eight hours, that's what they reckon, isn't it?

Forty-eight hours. If you don't find them in that, likely they're sodding dead . . .

A cabbie's been beaten up, there's a drunk and disorderly in the interview room and a possible child abuser on the way in. Nothing unusual there, then, just a pretty normal Christmas