Stuart Finlay

Find the girl. Get her out. Bring her home. What could go wrong? As a private investigator, Fin has built a successful career by reuniting families with their lost runaways. Then a stranger appears at his door with a cash-filled envelope and a newspaper clipping. The man's stepdaughter, sixteen-year-old Sarah Matthews, disappeared a year ago after emptying her mother's bank account, and allegedly torching her family home. Now her stepfather wants Fin to find her, but everyone Fin approaches – from classmates to the police – is unwilling to talk about the missing girl, and independent witnesses with no incentive to lie are corroborating stories that can't possibly be true. As Fin fights to discover the truth, he finds himself sucked into an unforgiving world of violence and sexual obsession that becomes more deadly with each revelation.

Fin has a price on his head, a target on his back, and nowhere he can hide. As a private investigator, Fin spies on cheating spouses and serves repossession orders. There will always be someone wanting to take a swing, or threatening to rip his throat out. But that's in the heat of the moment. It's not personal. Brice is different. He wants Fin dead. And not just dead. Hurt. Suffering. Broken. Then dead. And Brice won't stop there. He'll kill Fin's friends, fiancée, and family. The source of his rage? Fin has Brice's ledger. That ledger details every crime Brice has committed and how he felt while doing it. It's personal, damning, and a thing of pride. If Brice comes near, the book goes to the police. But if Brice gets arrested, he knows enough to put Fin behind bars with him. The two men exist in a devastatingly fragile deadlock, but it's the only thing keeping Fin alive. And Brice is looking to break it…