Part of Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James, book 19
First published 2023
Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid arrives at Russell Square on a rainy November night to find a young woman's body slumped against a tree. Sasha Johnson, a medical trainee, has been stabbed to death by someone who emerged from the crowd and vanished into darkness. Kincaid calls his wife, Detective Inspector Gemma James, who works on a knife crime task force. Together with their partners Doug Cullen and Melody Talbot, they begin investigating what appears to be a random attack. Sasha breaks every pattern for knife crime victims. She comes from a successful professional family, has no gang connections, and maintains no abusive relationships. Yet she harbors secrets that lead Kincaid to uncomfortable discoveries about his Notting Hill friends Wesley and Betty Howard. As the team untangles Sasha's complicated personal life, a second stabbing sends panic through London. Now they must catch a killer who strikes without warning in the shadowed streets of Bloomsbury, racing against time before more innocent lives are lost.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, police-procedural, race-against-time
Setting: Bloomsbury, London, Notting Hill, Russell Square
Period: November
368 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: violence