The Death Peddler

A week into their honeymoon, DCI Lucas Jericho and his partner, Ryder Winters are hauled back into work. Arriving at the scene of the crime, Lucas is confronted with something that mirrors Dante's Inferno. Moments into the investigation, he is hit by a disturbing coincidence. The church is a mere ten-minute drive from where, exactly a week ago to the day, he and Ryder tied the knot. A fortnight later, the body of a teenage girl is discovered on a pavement in the heart of London. Her throat had been cut and her clothes hiked over her waist to allow the extent of her horrific injuries full exposure. Struck by a sense of déjà vu, Lucas realises there is something oddly familiar about the set-up. Over the course of the next six weeks, the monster strikes several more times. With each kill, the mutilations become ever more inventive, ever more gruesome. In each instance the killer leaves a single clue, a series of letters and digits tattooed into the inside of the girls' lips. At first glance they appear to be nothing but a meaningless jumble. Lucas knows better. Both the tattoos and wound patters are meant to convey a message. One he is meant to decipher. The further into the investigation he delves, the more Lucas becomes convinced the murders have echoes in the past. As the case unfolds, his theory turns out to be eerily prophetic. A dark and compelling mystery thriller. The author's insight into the minds of serial killers is uncanny.