Books in the Frank Elder series

Fifteen years ago Susan Blacklock disappeared. Although Detective Inspector Frank Elder has taken early retirement, case still plagues his mind. Prime suspects, Shane Donald and Alan McKeirnan, were convicted a year later of brutal rape and murder of a young girl, and now that Shane has been granted parole, Elder feels compelled to revisit past.

So when Katherine suddenly appears on his doorstep, Elder knows that something is wrong. But the breakdown of their relationship has sent Katherine into a self-destructive tailspin, made worse when the artist is found murdered in his studio.

The third DI Frank Elder novel, from the master of British crime writing. It's clear to Elder that this is the work of the same unbalanced individual and, to find the killer, Elder must shine a light into the darkest recesses of human behaviour, the dark and twisted recesses of a disturbed human mind.

Elder's fears for his daughter are underscored by guilt - it was his involvement in a case that led directly to the abduction and rape which has so unbalanced Katherine's life. Persuaded out of retirement, Elder reopens a cold case which could have devastating repercussions for the crime squad itself.