When her domestic partner Susan is brutally murdered, Nicola Tanner is convinced that she was the intended target. The murderer's motive is likely connected to her recent work on a string of cold case honor killings. Despite being placed on leave, Tanner insists on pursuing justice for Susan-and she turns to fellow DI Tom Thorne for help.
Agreeing to take the case, Thorne quickly finds that working in such controversial territory among London's Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities can be dangerous in more ways than one. But when a young Bangladeshi couple goes missing, Tanner and Thorne must put everything on the line to investigate a case that is anything but cold.
"A novel that probes the phenomenon of honor killings and casts doubt on the work of the Metropolitan Police's Honor Crimes Unit."
The New York Times Book Review, editors' choice
"Once again [Billingham] takes the genre to new heights here with its clever murder hypothesis that is as current as today's headlines."
Joe Hartlaub, Bookreporter.com
"Shocking and topical . . . Billingham has few equals in moulding convincing characters and his finest creation Thorne is in top form . . . An engaging thriller from one of Britain's best crime writers."
