A serial killer is at work, and a task force of RCMP
officers is on the case. Constables Nolan, Tain and Hart
have joined the hunt -- Nolan working apart from his two
colleagues, and Tain and Hart together as partners. But all
three of them start to discover chilling connections
between the recent slayings and a horrific case from two
years ago -- the case that brought Ashley Hart onto the
scene and changed all of their lives forever.
Still more disturbing is that one of the latest victims is
the only woman who had escaped the previous killer. The
idea that somehow a murderer went free, only to lie in wait
and begin killing again, is devastating to the three
officers. Or is this some sort of apprentice, finishing up
the grisly work begun by the master? Nolan, Tain and Hart
find themselves reliving the old case and old emotions as
they pursue new leads, hoping for a clue or memory to solve
the brutal murders.
This is a two-for-one mystery, interweaving the
investigation of the current murders with the story of the
original case. It's a fascinating look at the beginning of
the often dysfunctional relationship among the three main
characters, as well as a nail-biting race to stop a cold-
blooded killer. Fans of the series will be rewarded with
finally finding out the backstory that's been hinted at in
the previous two books (THE FRAILTY OF FLESH and WHAT BURNS
WITHIN). Newcomers will get a great introduction to these
complex characters and the kind of creepy, twisty case that
Sandra Ruttan writes so well.
Her body was found in a Dumpster. But one look at the
victim told Hart and Tain that this would be no ordinary
investigation. There were details eerily similar to the
first case that they had worked on together, a search for
a terrifying murderer called the Missing Killer. And when
they saw the victim’s face they realized something else—
this woman was the only one to escape the Missing Killer
with her life. But Hart, Tain and Nolan solved that case
almost two years ago. The killer is dead. Isn’t he? Is
someone out to finish what the Missing Killer started? Or
did they get the wrong man?
