A DARK, DIVIDED SELF

The discovery of a corpse in a secluded, wooded corner of England blossoms into a hunt for a twisted serial killer.

DNA analysis of the meager remains found by a dog walker leads back to a missing person case in Manchester. But why would whoever killed Amy Peters bring her so far south just to dump her, not even buried, on Forestry Commission land in Brampton? That’s just one of the questions that plagues DCI Bernard Watts, who’s sorrier than ever that he didn’t retire when he had the chance. A more pressing question is whether Amy’s death is linked to four other abductions of young women from Manchester between 2016 and 2018. On the chance that the cases are linked, Watts announces to his squad that he’s arranged for two experts to help with the investigation. Criminologist Dr. Will Traynor is well known to his officers, having helped them in the past. But forensic psychologist Julian Devenish is a new face, someone whose knowledge of Manchester Watts expects to come in handy. Some of Watts’ men, like rough-and-tumble Adrian Jones, are skeptical of the academic pair. Others, like Police Constable Chloe Judd, are all in. Chloe thinks that developing a profile of the killer is just as important as learning what she can about the victims. But is the young detective ready to take on a killer whose depravity knows no limits?

Cross pulls no punches in a shocking tale of crime and punishment.