Ashley Dyer – författare

I månader har poliskommissarie Greg Carver jagat en gäckande seriemördare. En mördare som tillfångatar sina offer och ägnar veckor åt att tatuera varje centimeter av deras kroppar. Tills de blivit ett konstverk att visa upp för världen. Utredningen verkar ha gått i stå när Greg Carver en sen kväll brutalt skjuts ner i sitt hem. Hans kollega Ruth Lake är först på plats, men istället för att begära förstärkning så städar hon snabbt undan alla spår efter mördaren. Vad är det hon försöker att dölja och vem är mördaren? Och är Greg verkligen död?

Ristat i hud är en fängslande spänningsroman som tar dig med på en berg-och-dalbana av hemligheter, överraskningar och svek i jakten på en makaber mördare.

ASHLEY DYER är en gemensam pseudonym för den prisbelönta romanförfattaren Margaret Murphy och polisen och kriminalteknikern Helen Pepper. Ristat i hud är deras redan hyllade kriminaldebut och den första boken i serien om polisduon Lake och Carver.

»Uppslukande, smart. Fullspäckad med makabra och fängslande kriminaltekniska detaljer. En makalös debut.« Mo Hayder

»Kriminalinspektör Ruth Lake är en suverän skapelse.« Sheffield Telegraph

»En tät och fängslande thriller, lika vass som taggarna i intrigen.« Ann Cleeves

»En av de djärvaste, mest innovativa seriemördar-deckarna sedan När Lammen tystnar.« A.J Finn, författare till världssuccén Kvinnan i fönstret

A propulsive debut suspense novel, filled with secrets, nerve-jangling tension, perplexing mystery, and cold-blooded murder, in which a police officer on the hunt for a macabre serial killer is brutally attacked, and only his partner knows the truth about what happened—and who did it.

After months of hunting a ruthless murderer that the press has dubbed the Thorn Killer, Detective Greg Carver is shot in his own home. His trusted partner, Ruth Lake, is alone with him. Yet instead of calling for help, she rearranges the crime scene and wipes the room clean of prints.

But Carver isn’t dead.

Awakening in the hospital, Carver has no memory of being shot, but is certain that his assailant is the Thorn Killer. Though there’s no evidence to support his claim, Carver insists the attack is retaliation, an attempt to scare the detective off the psychopath’s scent because he was getting too close. Trapped in a hospital bed and still very weak, Carver finds his obsession growing. He’s desperate to get back to work and finally nail the bastard, before more innocent blood is spilled.

One person knows the truth and she’s not talking. She’s also now leading the Thorn Killer investigation while Carver recuperates. It doesn’t matter that Carver and the rest of the force are counting on her, and that more victims’ lives are at stake. Ruth is keeping a deadly secret, and she’ll cross every line—sacrificing her colleagues, her career, and maybe even her own life—to keep it from surfacing.

Utterly engrossing and filled with masterfully crafted surprises, Splinter in the Blood is a propulsive roller coaster ride filled with deception, perplexing mystery, and cold-blooded murder.

"Disturbing and wickedly entertaining.”—People Magazine

Detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver, introduced in the electrifying Splinter in the Blood, must stop a serial killer whose victims are the centerpiece of his macabre works of art.While Britain is obsessed with the newest hit true-crime television show, Fact, or Fable? detectives Ruth Lake and Greg Carver are tormented by a fiendish flesh-and-blood killer on the loose.

Lured to a “crime scene” by a mysterious digital invitation, Ruth Lake is horrified by what she finds: a bizarre and gruesome tableau surrounded by a crowd of gawkers. The deadly work is the latest “art installation” designed by a diabolical criminal dubbed the Ferryman. Not only is this criminal cold-blooded; he’s a narcissistic exhibitionist desperate for an audience. He’s also clever at promoting his deadly handiwork. Exploiting England’s current true-crime craze, he uses social media to titillate and terrorize the public.

Ruth is joined in the investigation by her partner Greg Carver, who is slowly regaining his strength after a run-in with another sadistic criminal. But Greg can’t seem to shake the bewildering effects of the head wound that nearly ended him. Are the strange auras blurring his vision an annoying side effect of his injury, or could they be something more . . . a tool to help him see a person’s true nature?

In this utterly engrossing and thrilling tale of suspense, a pair of seasoned detectives face off against a wickedly smart and inventive psychopath in a tense, bloody game that leads to a shocking end.

''Compelling, clever. Packed with macabre and fascinating forensic details. A stunning debut'' Mo Hayder After months of hunting a ruthless murderer that the press has dubbed the Thorn Killer, Detective Carver is shot in his own home. His trusted partner, Ruth Lake, is alone with him. Yet instead of calling for help, she wipes the room clean of prints.But Carver isn''t dead. Awakening in hospital, he has no memory of being shot, but is certain that his assailant is the Thorn Killer. Though there''s no evidence to support his claim, Carver insists the attack is an attempt to scare him off the psychopath''s scent. One person knows the truth and she''s not talking. She''s also now leading the Thorn Killer investigation while Carver recuperates. But Ruth is keeping a deadly secret, and she''ll cross every line - sacrificing her colleagues, her career, and maybe even her own life - to keep it from surfacing.''A taut and compelling thriller, as sharp as the thorns that feature in the plot'' Ann Cleeves