Part of Inspector Banks, book 12
First published 2002
Acting Detective Superintendent Alan Banks thought the nightmare was over. A single phone call from a worried neighbor has finally delivered Terence Payne into police custody. Payne is the serial killer the media dubbed Chameleon, a predator who has terrorized the community for months. Now he sits in a cell, possibly dying, his killing spree apparently finished. But Banks cannot shake his doubts as he walks through what reporters will call the House of Payne. Too many pieces refuse to fit together. The crime scenes reveal secrets that contradict the simple narrative of a captured monster. While the public celebrates and the press declares victory, Banks knows the investigation is far from complete. Bodies continue to surface and new victims emerge from the shadows. The detective must confront an uncomfortable truth: catching Chameleon may have been only the beginning. Other predators still hunt in the darkness, and the real horror may just be starting.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, unreliable-narrator
Setting: House of Payne
Period: present-day
501 pages · Paperback · Pan Macmillan
Content warnings: violence