An adolescent white boy is found dead in a cemetery. When it is discovered that 3 other similar killings have taken place earlier, New Scotland Yard's Inspector Lynley, Barbara Havers, and DS Nakata, who has just been promoted to Detective Sargent, are brought in to solve the case quickly before any others are killed. Assistant Commissioner Hillier keeps interfering in the investigation which is very hard on Lynley who is trying to protect Havers and Nkata from him. During the investigation additional young men, black, mixed race, and white are killed. The pressure mounts when Hillier requires that a reporter be embedded in the 30-member team to do profiles on the investigators. One is completed on Lynley who is trying to protect Nkata, who has some unfortunate occurrences in his background. Eventually Barbara Havers catches the criminal, just in time. ( )

(2005)Another very good Lynley/Havers mystery that tries to find a pedofile/serial killer connected to a facility for at-risk boys, Colossus. Find that one of the employees there is the culprit, but in the meantime, Helen, Lynley's wife is murdered, he quits the force because of it and Havers seems to be without a friend when her Pakistani neighbor finally opens his arms to her. Where will these characters go from here?Booklist: Issues of racism within the police are brought to the fore when the ritualistic murder of a teenage boy is linked to the deaths of three other youths. It's clear there's a serial killer at work, and New Scotland Yard is called in to solve the case and quell accusations of police prejudice. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley has his hands full----not only with finding the murderer but also with ensuring that volatile Barbara Havers doesn't further damage her career. Then there's the matter of keeping an eye on a tabloid reporter and a profiler whom intractable Assistant Commissioner Hillier has foisted on the team. Veteran thriller writer George, an American, is as at home with the social dynamics of the seedier parts of London as she is with the multidimensional personalities of Lynley and his colleagues (Winston Nkata, in particular, really comes into his own here). This is a riveting installment in a superb series--far more than just plain good. It's also a turning point for the series as George makes some bold, surprising decisions that permanently change the lives of the characters her fans have come to know.

El inspector Thomas Lynley está trabajando en el caso más importante de su carrera: cazar a un siniestro asesino. Cuando encuentran el cuerpo desnudo de un adolescente intencionadamente dispuesto encima de una tumba, no hacen falta más pistas para deducir que se trata de la obra de un asesino en serie. Ésta es la cuarta víctima que aparece en las mismas circunstancias y la primera de raza blanca.

Characters are at the heart of my reading enjoyment and this book (and series) delivers on that front. I will admit that there were times when I thought the book was overly long (it could have definitely used some editing) and too grim and disturbing even for someone like me who reads a lot of this type of fiction, but the locomotive of the characters and their reactions and development throughout the book kept me hooked through the end. There were scenes that almost moved me to tears because of the simplicity of the prose which communicated complex and deep emotional events. She also wisely stayed away from too much focus on the violence of the crimes and the chase for the suspect. I just don't need or want that in my life these days. I can't say this was a fun book to read but it was interesting and I feel better for having spent time with it. ( )

Wanneer een naakt jongenslichaam verminkt op een grafzerk wordt aangetroffen, herkent de Londense politie hierin al gauw het werk van een seriemoordenaar. Dit is zijn vierde slachtoffer, maar voor het eerst een met een blanke huidskleur.
New Scotland Yard geeft de gevoelige zaak in handen van inspecteur Thomas Lynley en zijn collega’s. Door een afschuwelijke tragedie binnen hun gelederen raken ze het spoor bijster. En de moordenaar is een psychopaat die zich door niets of niemand tegenhouden.