NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The hunt for a vicious killer forces a tenuous alliance between a volatile detective, an abrasive cop, and an eccentric special agent in the first novel of the action-packed Will Trent series—the inspiration for ABC’s Will Trent

“Crime fiction at its finest.”—Michael Connelly

“[Karin] Slaughter’s gift for building multi-layered tension while deconstructing damaged personalities gives this thriller a nerve-wracking finish.”—USA Today

In the city of Atlanta, young women are dying at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And Michael Ormewood, the hot-tempered veteran detective assigned to the case, grows increasingly erratic as he is distracted by his crumbling marriage.

Enter Will Trent, a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Lanky, quiet, and resolute, Will and his astute observations and unconventional methods have earned both praise and scorn from his colleagues, but they may give this team the edge they need to solve this case. Working with Angie Polaski, an acerbic vice cop, Michael and Will race to track down the killer before he strikes again.

But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer’s trail in the most coincidental of ways—someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open. . . .