The Crucifix Killer

A young woman's body is found in a derelict cottage deep in Los Angeles National Forest. She hangs naked from two wooden posts. She was tortured before she died, and the skin of her face was torn away while she was still alive.

Homicide Detective Robert Hunter recognises the mark carved into the nape of her neck: a double-cross, the signature of the Crucifix Killer. That should be impossible. The man behind that signature was caught and executed two years ago.

Hunter and his rookie partner have two explanations to test. Either a copycat has learned the killer's methods, or the wrong man was put to death and the real killer never stopped. The question hangs over every step of the investigation.

If the killer is still free, he picks victims seemingly at random and enjoys taunting Hunter with his failure to catch him. This is a crime thriller with graphic violence and a dark, relentless tone, built around a detective pulled back into a case he thought was over.