by James Hayman
First published 2013
Twenty-eight-year-old Lucinda vanishes during her morning jog in Portland. That same evening, police discover sixteen-year-old Katie's body in a vacant lot. Her chest has been opened and her heart removed with surgical precision. Detective Michael McCabe and his partner Maggie Savage immediately focus their investigation on cardiac surgeons in the area. The victims share troubling similarities: they are young, blonde, and athletic. McCabe and Savage race against time to find Lucinda before she becomes the next victim to lose her heart to this methodical killer. The detectives must navigate the medical community while pursuing leads that could save Lucinda's life. The clock ticks as they work to understand the killer's pattern and motivation before another heart stops beating forever.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, race-against-time
Setting: Portland
410 pages · Paperback · L'Archipel
Content warnings: murder, violence