It's twelve days before Christmas and for the first time in a long while Detective Inspector Jack Delaney is looking forward to it… And then the killings begin.The first victim is a thirty-five-year-old woman found in a cheap hotel room in north London. Her throat has been slashed twice and her body mutilated. She was carrying no identification; the only items on her person are some coins and a small, broken make-up mirror. This horrific discovery marks the beginning of Jack Delaney's toughest ever case. When the expertly dissected body of a second young woman is discovered with a red scarf tied around her neck, it suddenly becomes clear that there is a psychopath on the loose. There is no obvious connection between the two victims and there are no clear motives. But the dead hold all the clues, and Delaney, together with forensic pathologist Kate Walker, must piece together the evidence and unlock the pattern behind the murders, if they are to stop the killer from striking again.
Jackie Malone has been murdered. Her body lies in a pool of blood in the north London flat where she worked as a prostitute. Deep knife wounds have been gouged into her corpse and her hands and feet are tied with coat hanger wire. For Detective Inspector Jack Delaney this is no ordinary case. He was a friend of Jackie's and she left desperate messages on his answer phone just hours before she was killed. Despite no immediate leads and no obvious suspects, the fear in her voice tells him that this was not a random act of violence.Just as Delaney begins his investigation, a young girl is reported missing, feared abducted, and he is immediately tasked with finding her. Delaney knows he must act quickly if there is any chance of finding her alive, but he is also determined to track down Jackie's killer before the trail goes cold. However, his tough and uncompromising attitude has made him some powerful enemies on the force, and Delaney soon finds that this case may provide the perfect opportunity for them to dispose of him, once and for all.
Detective Inspector Delaney is looking forward to spending Christmas with Kate Walker and his young daughter Siobhan, but the past always had a way of ruining Jack’s best-laid plans. And this holiday season is no different!
A year previously, Delaney was responsible for the arrest of Michael Robinson, a viciously violent rapist. Robinson always claimed he was set up by the police but before he could be brought to trial he was brutally attacked in prison and left for dead. He didn’t die, however, and a year later, out of hospital and fit for trial, he is pointing the finger squarely at Delaney for the assault that nearly killed him. And not only that — it looks like he has a case!
And everything is about to get a whole lot worse for the Detective Inspector when Robinson walks free from court.
There are new faces at White City — and with them come old crimes, old bones and old scores to settle!
It seems that Delaney is not the only one in West London with a past they’ll take any measures to hide. And as the body count starts to climb, it looks like Jack himself might be about to join the club.
The Murder Club!