Author(s): Mark Billingham

Fiction

The body is found in the grubbiest of North London hotel rooms. Naked on a bare mattress, kneeling as though in prayer, his head is hooded and his hands tied tight with a brown leather belt. And there's the sinister finishing touch - the call from the florist to check arrangements about the wreath . . .

It is only ten days since convicted rapist Douglas Remfry had been released from prison. Someone knew he was coming out. Someone wanted to mete out some punishment of his own. When a second sex offender is discovered dead, the police believe they have a vicious, calculating vigilante on their hands.

But how does the killer lure his victims to their deaths? Who do the victims think they are going to meet in these hotel rooms? Then the police find the letters . . .

Thorne works best when his passions are up, when his anger flares him into action. This time, he has little sympathy for the dead. It is only as his investigation continues that Thorne finally discovers a victim worth fighting for.