Jana Kunová Libri

All’alba di un buio e freddo giorno d’inverno, la detective Kim Stone scende dalla moto e fa il suo ingresso nella sta­zione di polizia di Halesowen, pronta a incontrare per la prima volta la squadra che le hanno assegnato. Poco dopo viene ritrovato il cada­vere di un giovane mutilato e deca­pitato, e Kim e i suoi si precipitano sul posto. È l’inizio della loro prima indagine. Stacey Wood, entrata a far parte del gruppo come esperta informatica, scopre un’inquietante somiglianza con un omicidio recente e si con­vince che tra le due morti ci sia un legame. La chiave di tutto potreb­be essere una residenza per donne abusate. Mentre l’assassino minac­cia di mietere altre vittime, i quattro colleghi dovranno imparare al più presto a collaborare. Se la giovane Stacey già si distingue per l’efficien­za e il sergente Bryant per la sua affidabilità, l’ambizione di Dawson rischia di mandare all’aria il delicato equilibrio del nuovo team investiga­tivo. Non sarà facile per Kim, nel suo nuovo ruolo di capo, tenere unita la squadra che è chiamata a risolvere il suo primo difficile caso.

When the lifeless body of a man is found on an industrial estate, Detective Kim Stone arrives on the scene and discovers he's been tortured in the worst way imaginable. But as she breaks the devastating news to the victim's wife, Diane Phipps, Kim can't help feeling that something isn't quite right about the woman's reaction. Twenty-four hours later, the victims family disappears into thin air. Then a second body is found staked to the ground in a local nature reserve. Desperate to crack the case open quickly, Kim and her team unravel a vital clue -- a fiercely guarded secret that links both victims and could cost even more lives. A secret that some police officers are also protecting. Faced with deceit from those she should be able to trust, family members who won't talk, and local reporter Tracy Frost opening a can of worms on the case of a woman murdered by her husband a year ago -- Kim is in deep water like never before. Kim must find the motive if she is to find the killer who is systematically targeting and torturing his victims. But can she unlock the shocking truth and stop him before he strikes again?

"When Detective Kim Stone is called to the home of Samantha Brown, she finds the young woman lying in bed with her throat cut and a knife in her hand. With no sign of forced entry or struggle, Kim rules her death a tragic suicide. But a visit to Samantha's parents rings alarm bells for Kim - there's something they're not telling her. And, when she spots a clue in a photograph, Kim realises she's made a huge mistake. Samantha didn't take her own life, she was murdered. Then a young man's body is found in a local lake with his throat cut and Kim makes a link between the victim and Samantha. They both spent time at Unity Farm, a retreat for people seeking an alternative way of life.Beneath the retreat's cosy façade, Kim and her team uncover a sinister community preying on the emotionally vulnerable.Sending one of her own undercover into Unity Farm is high risk but it's Kim's only hope if she is to catch a killer - someone Kim is convinced the victims knew and trusted. With Bryant distracted by the emergence of a harrowing case close to his heart, and an undercover officer in way over her head, Kim's neck is on the line like never before. Can she protect those closest to her before another life is taken?"--Publisher description

"One August afternoon, eight-year-old Grace Lennard skips into the garden of the childcare centre she attends and vanishes into thin air. Hours before, Steven Harte walks into Halesowen police station and confesses to having information that will lead Detective Kim Stone to Melody Jones - the little girl who was taken from a playground exactly twenty-five years ago. But something about his confession is off and Kim dismisses his claims. Arriving at the scene of Grace's disappearance, Kim finds a chilling piece of evidence: the heart bracelet belonging to Melody. Now Kim must play Steven's twisted game if she is to find Grace alive. But they're going to play by Kim's rules. With only twenty-four hours to make every second of Steven's interrogation count, and scan his behaviour for hidden clues, Kim and her team soon link Steven to the abduction of several vulnerable girls - two were kept for a year and then released, unharmed - but where are Melody and the others? Then small bones are discovered in the grounds of a local park, and Kim fears the worst. Kim may be close to convicting a killer, but there's another who wants revenge against her - Dr Alex Thorne - the evil woman Kim did her best to keep behind bars. Alex is about to reveal a shocking secret to Kim that will hit her where it hurts the most. And if Kim lets Alex mess with her head, she might not be able to save Grace and find the other missing girls in time"--Back cover

"In a busy shopping centre, a little girl clutches a teddy bear, clinging to it in the absence of her mother, Katrina. Hours later, Katrina's body is discovered in an abandoned building. For Detective Kim Stone, it looks like a quick, functional murder. But Kim's instincts tell her there's more to this senseless murder than meets the eye. What was the motive for killing a young mother out shopping with her child? Days later, a second victim is found in a local park, her neck broken just like Katrina's and her six-year-old son missing. But with her colleague, Detective Stacey Wood, working on another unsolved crime and a member of the team grieving the loss of a close relative, Kim is struggling to make inroads on what is fast becoming a complex case. And when a handwritten letter from the killer lands on Kim's desk addressed to her, and pleading for help, she knows time is running out to bring the little boy home alive. With the support of a handwriting analyst and profiler, Kim and the team begin to get inside the mind of the killer and make a shocking discovery. Some of the victims have scratch marks on their wrists. But these are no random scratches. The killer is using them to communicate with someone. The question is ... with whom?"--Provided by publisher

Il calo improvviso delle temperature porta con sé la neve e un fagottino avvolto in uno scialle lasciato sulla soglia della stazione di polizia di Halesowen. Chi abbandonerebbe un bambino per strada con un freddo simile? È questa la domanda che tormenta la detective Kim Stone, formalmente incaricata di prendersi cura del neonato fino a che non verranno allertati i Servizi Sociali. E la notte è ancora lunga: una telefonata di emergenza richiama la detective in servizio. Kelly Rowe, una giovane prostituta, è stata assassinata nel quartiere di Hollytree. Le brutali ferite sul corpo sembrano suggerire che l'omicidio sia frutto di un raptus o di una rapina, ma Kim è sicura che quelle labbra livide, se potessero, racconterebbero un'altra storia. Quando altre prostitute vengono uccise in rapida successione, appare chiaro che i delitti sono collegati e nascondono qualcosa di inquietante. Nel frattempo prosegue la ricerca della donna che ha abbandonato il suo bambino, ma quello che all'inizio sembra un gesto disperato assume via via contorni sempre più sinistri. Per Kim Stone e la sua squadra comincia così una discesa negli abissi più oscuri dell'animo umano, che li porterà ad addentrarsi in una spirale di sangue e barbarie. Forse questa volta la verità è più spaventosa di ogni immaginazione…