The National Crime Agency Series - Book 1
The Pick, The Spade and The Crow
“At first, narrator Anne Flosnik’s whispery voice seems too light to carry the dark tale of grisly murders featured in the inaugural title of Rogers’ crime series. Flosnik, however, uses her talents with tone and pitch to successfully develop both the vulnerable and the gritty aspects of the characters. The plot is heavy with detail as Rogers spins an intriguing story of murders old and new and weaves in enough backstory to give his fresh faces a solid foundation. Flosnik’s smart pacing keeps the story from bogging down, and her agreeable accents simplify character identification. This effective pairing of an accomplished author with a skillful narrator gives this recent addition to British crime fiction a promising start.”
AudioFile
When the body of a man is discovered in woodlands outside Manchester, a ten-year missing-persons investigation can finally be filed away. But this was no ordinary death: gagged, bound and buried alive, he was the victim of a sophisticated and sadistic killer. And there is something else that has the National Crime Agency puzzled. A single character carved into a nearby tree.
Newly promoted to the NCA's Behavioural Sciences Unit, Senior Investigator Joanne Stuart is determined to hunt down the perpetrator. Just as Jo's investigation begins to reveal links with other disappearances, there is another murder. This is no longer a cold case; she is dealing with the escalating violence of a chilling serial killer.
Stepping into a sinister world of secrets, symbols and rituals, Jo will have to confront the legacy of her own past and the violent memories that lurk there if she is going to solve this case. But at what cost?
Praise