DI Jake Sawyer is suffering. After a bruising confrontation with a cruel killer, he has isolated himself in a remote cottage in the bleak and beautiful northern Peak District. Facing an uncertain future, he resumes his illicit investigation into his mother’s murder, and reluctantly enters therapy to explore his apparent lack of primal fear response. When an ex-TV personality is found murdered, from a single stab wound to the heart, Sawyer suspects a ritualistic element. But then a second victim is found, and he forms a terrifying theory about the killer’s twisted logic. As Sawyer teeters on the edge of breakdown, he must protect the killer’s targets as he closes in on the truth behind the attack on his mother: a truth that will put his reputation – and freedom – at risk.
Andrew Lowe: “I’ve worked with Bryony on twelve books in total, and we’ve just completed the tenth book in my crime thriller series. It’s a joyful and rewarding creative partnership. Bryony has helped me refine my craft, both in terms of close-up style and big-picture storytelling discipline. She has a copy-editor’s forensic eye for detail but can switch to a reader’s-eye view and tune in to the story’s subtext and emotional impact. Bryony has not only helped me improve and optimise the individual books, she has also worked hard on maintaining consistency and continuity across my series. Her extensive story bible of character profiles and world elements has been indispensable in developing a complex ongoing storyline with multiple narrative threads.”