A skeleton tied to a chair. A witness whose story unravels. A killer who’s not finished yet.
Detective Greg Geldard is still reeling from a blazing row with his partner Chris when the call comes. A body in a derelict farmhouse outside the quiet Norfolk village of Themelthorpe. Nothing in twenty-five years of policing has prepared Geldard for this. A headless skeleton bound at the wrists and ankles. And facing it, a tripod. A video camera pointing straight at the remains. The only witness is a hitchhiker whose story falls apart the moment Geldard starts asking questions.
But one thing is clear: someone wanted this woman’s death to be seen. And someone may still be watching. Because somewhere on the Norfolk Broads, another woman is already tied to a chair. Waiting for her turn in front of the camera. She has days if she’s lucky. Hours if she’s not.
Award-winning author Heather Peck has enjoyed a varied life. She has been both farmer and agricultural policy adviser, volunteer covid vaccinator and NHS Trust Chair. She bred sheep and alpacas, reared calves, broke ploughs, represented the UK in international negotiations, specialised in emergency response from Chernobyl to bird flu, managed controls over pesticides and GM crops, saw legislation through Parliament and got paid to eat Kit Kats while on secondment to Nestle Rowntree. She is author of the very popular DCI Geldard Norfolk Mysteries and her standalone thriller ‘Milestones’ won the PageTurner Book Award for best crime novel in 2024. She lives in Norfolk with her partner Gary, two dogs and two cats. See more and sign up for Heather’s free monthly newsletter at http://www.heatherpeckauthor.com
My thoughts: This is a shocking case, starting with the remains of a young woman being found in a rotting farm house. The hitchhiker who found her body has a story that doesn’t add up and as the police investigate it becomes clear something dark and terrible happened to the woman.
And then it becomes apparent that there’s another victim, a woman being slowly starved to death on camera. The online team determine she’s somewhere in Norfolk, and a task force swings into place to find her and get her help as fast as they can. But who is behind this and what is the connection between the victims, a London university and the farm where the first woman was found?
DS Geldard also has some personal stuff going on, as his partner is struggling with returning to work in a reduced capacity, and it’s throwing a lot of things up in the air. He needs to focus on the case but he can’t neglect his family.
A sinister and disturbing story of vulnerable young women being exploited and killed by a murderer without a conscience.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
🩷💙 Thank you for being a part of this adventure x
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