Tami Hoag Libri

La notte è il momento che preferisce per i suoi macabri rituali: sistema accuratamente i corpi, versa lentamente il combustibile. Poi accende un fiammifero. Fino a ora, questo efferato serial killer ha ucciso solo sbandate e prostitute, il che gli ha permesso di avere vita facile con le svogliate indagini della polizia. Ma nella sua ultima, mortale messa in scena ha commesso due imperdonabili errori: ha ridotto in cenere la figlia di uno dei maggiori industriali di Minneapolis e si è esibito di fronte a un ignaro pubblico. Ora la polizia ha un testimone, che però non parla.

"Spiacente". È la frase scritta sullo specchio davanti al corpo dell'agente Andy Fallon, penzolante in un bagno del suo bel appartamento. Un suicidio o uno scherzo finito in tragedia? In ogni caso non si tratta di omicidio e l'indagine è trattata dal dipartimento come una pura formalità. Non la pensano così gli agenti incaricati del caso, Liska e Kovac, se non altro per rispetto al padre di Fallon: Iron Mike, ex poliziotto, per anni colonna portante del loro dipartimento. La fretta con cui il caso viene archiviato pone dubbi sulla buona fede del dipartimento e quando, il giorno del funerale, Iron Mike viene ritrovato morto in circostanze identiche a quelle del figlio, i sospetti crescono a dismisura...

The fourth book in the Kovac and Liska detective series from Sunday Times bestselling author Tami Hoag

Een rechercheur raakt sterk betrokken bij de bedreigingen aan het adres van een vrouwelijke rechter nadat zij een het publiek onwelgevallig oordeel heeft uitgesproken in een zaak tegen de vermoedelijke moordenaar van een moeder en twee kinderen.

When Detective Nick Fourcade enters the home of Genevieve Gauthier outside the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, the bloody crime scene that awaits him is both the most brutal and the most confusing he's ever seen. Genevieve's seven-year-old son, P.J., has been murdered by an alleged intruder, yet Genevieve is alive and well, a witness inexplicably left behind to tell the tale. There is no evidence of forced entry, not a clue that points to a motive. Meanwhile, Nick's wife, Detective Annie Broussard, sits in the emergency room with the grieving Genevieve. A mother herself, Annie understands the emotional devastation this woman is going through, but as a detective she's troubled by a story that makes little sense. Who would murder a child and leave the only witness behind? When the very next day P.J.'s sometimes babysitter, thirteen-year-old Nora Florette, is reported missing, the town is up in arms, fearing a maniac is preying on their children. With pressure mounting from a tough, no-nonsense new sheriff, the media, and the parents of Bayou Breaux, Nick and Annie dig deep into the dual mysteries. But sifting through Genevieve Gauthier's tangled web of lovers and sorting through a cast of local lowlifes brings more questions than answers. Is someone from Genevieve's past or present responsible for the death of her son? Is the missing teenager, Nora, a victim, or something worse? Then fingerprints at the scene change everything when they come back to a convicted criminal: Genevieve herself. The spotlight falls heavily on the grieving mother who is both victim and accused. Could she have killed her own child to free herself of the burden of motherhood, or is the loss of her beloved boy pushing her to the edge of insanity? Could she have something to do with the disappearance of Nora Florette, or is the troubled teenager the key to the murder? How far will Nick and Annie have to go to uncover the dark truth of the boy?