Kirkus Review

Australian TV writer Simpson's first novel sets his franchise heroine, Melbourne forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jane Halifax, against an exceptionally sadistic serial killer. Billionaire Nigel Woods is found impaled on the spear of a famous sculpture in his mansion. Franco Bernero, who ran the Ferraro Foundation after leaving Victoria's Upper House in disgrace, is found stretched to the point of breaking on a custom-made vertical rack in his own home. What do the two murders have in common besides stomach-churning cruelty? Inspector Eric Ringer, the Victoria Police's Head of Homicide, wants answers from his ex-lover, Jane Halifax, and she obliges with a quick read: The ritualistic killings were methodical, organized, and premeditated, though it's hard to tell whether the motive is resentment of the wealthy, revenge for tax evasion, or hatred of the Catholic Church, since both victims were prominent Catholics subjected to medieval torture. By the time this last theory is boosted by the murder of Michael McGill, a former priest defrocked 20 years ago for sexual offenses, Ringer has focused his attention on Tomas Kurtza, who served 15 years for kidnapping and rape before leaving a DNA sample at one of the crime scenes and vanishing. Halifax, who thinks the third killing less carefully planned and executed than the first two, tries to get a clearer sense of the victims and the leading suspect by spending time with Woods' widow, Melissa; with Cayden Voss, a performance coach who praised Kurtza's acting chops while he was still in prison; and with Ela Bey, a librarian who insists that she's Kurtza's common-law wife. Both Ringer and Halifax will be surprised at where this trail of tears ultimately leads them. A brutal, fast-moving tale targeting readers who can take it and ask for more. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.