Precious Blood - Couverture souple

'They found her in the East Village, nailed to the wall of a railroad flat'

Dr. Edward Jenner is a New York forensic pathologist: he has attended countless murder scenes and performed thousands of autopsies but the killing of 21 year old Andie Delore is different. The naked body is marked with an indecipherable ancient script and is arranged in the shape of a ritual sacrifice.

The murderer poses as a cop. The sole eye witness is Andie's flatmate, Ana da Jong. She can't trust the police anymore. Instead she turns to Jenner for help.

But then a second victim is found in rural Pennsylvania. Her head has been placed in a puddle of milk.

And then the third. Another decapitation: her naked torso is decorated with exotic bird feathers...

Both corpses have the same mysterious script. The killer is leading Jenner and Ana into his own private nightmare. A place for which there will be no escape.

"Precious Blood is a brilliant debut . . . an intelligent thriller that takes you down the meanest streets, peopled by complex characters, pacing that doesn't let up until you've turned the last page, and dialogue that crackles and cuts to the bone" (Linda Fairstein author of the New York Times bestsellers Bad Blood and Death Dance)

"Taut and chilling . . . a fast-paced thriller written by a real player in the game of forensic sleuthing." (Kathy Reichs)

"Precious Blood carves out a new, wonderfully literary space in the world of crime and thriller fiction. Jonathan Hayes has written a startling debut, demonstrating his mastery of suspense, characters, dark details and beautifully evocative language. Once you've read it you'll be pacing anxiously for the arrival of his next book" (Glenn Cooper, author of The Library of the Dead)

"Fans of CSI and the like would definitely like this one" (Library Journal)