Beautiful Death, by Fiona McIntosh

Jack wasn’t enjoying the banter. He was watching the victim’s dark hair heavily unfolding, reminding him of Lily. A sharp tug of fear passed through him. He hated listening to this with Lily’s whereabouts unknown. He needed to make that call and set things straight with the team in charge of her missing person case…now he was staring at a mark on the corpse, just near her shoulder. He felt his breath catch.

On his last case, DCI Jack Hawksworth found himself just a little too closely involved when he realised he was romantically involved with a serial killer. Now, though, he’s back at work and newly assigned to a big case. Someone is killing seemingly random victims, taking their kidneys and faces as trophies. Jack and his team must stop the killer – but, soon, Jack finds he is again more closely involved than he’d like- when one of the victims turns out to be his new girlfriend. Jack should remove himself from the investigation, but now that it’s personal he is even more determined to solve the case.

Beautiful Death is a gripping crime novel combining crime with medical and scientific possibility, in the underworld of black market trading in body parts. Set in and around London, the story still manages to include references to Australia, where the author resides, reminding the reader of that link. In the end, though, the setting – whilst well evoked – is merely a backdrop to an intriguing mystery, a chilling series of events and the absorbing lives of a diverse cast of characters.

This is the second book featuring Detective jack Hawksworth, and readers will look forward to more.

Beautiful Death

Beautiful Death, by Fiona McIntosh
Harper Collins, 2009
ISBN: 9780732284473

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