Books

Jackdaw

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Daughter of a notorious murderer herself, Detective Scarlett Delaney hasn’t been on the force for long when she finds herself heading up a mystifying new case. With three seemingly impossible murders to date, leaving each of the victims with calling-card scratches, the killer known only as “Jackdaw” feels untouchable… uncatchable, always claiming a shiny keepsake before disappearing into thin air.

That is until Scarlett encounters Henry Devlin, a charismatic but dangerous criminal with his own reasons for pursuing the Jackdaw. Together, they form an uneasy alliance, but as they get closer to their prey, the threat surrounding Scarlett intensifies – from the growing suspicions of her partner on the force, Henry’s ruthlessly efficient employers… and, most terrifyingly, from the very monster that she is so desperately chasing…

Mimic

Order: Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwell’s

DS Benjamin Chambers and DC Adam Winter are hunting a twisted serial killer who recreates famous works of art using the bodies of his victims. But after Chambers almost loses his life, the case goes cold – the killer lying dormant, his collection unfinished.

Jordan Marshall has excelled within the Met Police, driven by a loss that defined her teenage years. She obtains new evidence, convincing both Chambers and Winter to revisit the case. However, this new investigation reawakens their killer, the team in desperate pursuit of a monster hell-bent on finishing what he started at any cost.

Or go back to where it all started - the international bestselling Ragdoll trilogy. Translated into over 30 languages, and now a hit TV series, Ragdoll is a rocket-paced serial killer thriller with twists and turns you won't see coming.

Ragdoll

Order: Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwell’s

A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together, nicknamed the ‘Ragdoll’ by the media.

Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter.

The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.

With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?

The best debut I’ve ever read

Rachel Abbott

Hangman

Order: Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwell’s

18 months after the ‘Ragdoll’ murders, a body is found hanging from Brooklyn Bridge, the word ‘BAIT’ carved into the chest.

In London a copycat killer strikes, branded with the word ‘PUPPET’, forcing DCI Emily Baxter into an uneasy partnership with the American detectives on the case Special Agents Rouche and Curtis.

Each time they trace a suspect, the killer is one step ahead. With the body count rising on both sides of the Atlantic, can they learn to trust each other and identify who is holding the strings before it is too late?

Endgame

Order: Amazon | Waterstones | Blackwell’s

When retired police officer Finlay Shaw is found dead in a locked room, everyone thinks it’s suicide. But disgraced detective William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes isn’t so sure.

Together with his former partner detective Emily Baxter and private detective Alex Edmunds, Wolf’s team begin to dig into Shaw’s early days on the beat. Was Shaw as innocent as he seemed? Or is there more to his past than he’d ever let on?

But not everyone wants Wolf back. As his investigation draws him ever deeper into police corruption, it will not only be his career on the line, but the lives of those he holds closest as well…

Superb thriller writing

Peter Robinson