by Greg Iles
First published 1997
Harper Cole lives two lives in the Mississippi Delta. Days find him trading commodities from his remote farmhouse. Nights belong to E.R.O.S., an exclusive digital network where Hollywood stars and New York intellectuals share their darkest secrets under total anonymity. As system operator, Harper sees everything his wealthy clients confess in their electronic sanctuary. Six female users suddenly vanish from the network without explanation. Harper grows suspicious, but real terror strikes when a famous New Orleans writer turns up decapitated in her home. She was an E.R.O.S. client. Harper breaks protocol and alerts police, discovering all six missing women died brutal deaths across different cities. Each killer used a different weapon and took the same strange trophy. The FBI treats Harper as their prime suspect in murders he reported. Now he must work with federal agents to catch a killer who knows the system as well as he does. Only Harper can draw this predator into the open.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, high-stakes, investigative-journalism
Setting: Mississippi Delta, New Orleans
Period: Contemporary
552 pages · Paperback · New English Library
Content warnings: murder, violence