Part of Kay Scarpetta, book 6
First published 2005
Dr Kay Scarpetta hoped for a quiet Christmas, but violent crime never takes holidays. The Chief Medical Examiner finds herself called to New York's Central Park, where a naked woman's body sits propped against a fountain in the winter cold. The killer's signature becomes clear immediately. A precise gunshot wound to the head. Carefully removed sections of skin. The deliberate positioning of the corpse. Every detail points to Temple Brooks Gault, the psychopathic murderer who has become Scarpetta's most dangerous adversary. Working alongside detective Pete Marino and profiler Benton Wesley, Scarpetta must enter Gault's twisted world to stop him before he kills again. The investigation leads them deeper into New York's underground, where the hunter and hunted roles begin to blur. In the subway tunnels beneath the city, Scarpetta will face a confrontation that tests not only her forensic expertise but her will to survive.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, detective-story, psychological-suspense
Setting: Central Park, New York
Period: Christmas
383 pages · Paperback · Berkley
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder