Absolution, by Caro Ramsay, is the first in a chilling, atmospheric and intelligent crime series, which represents a very promising start for this new author.
A woman lies mummified in a hospital, in Glasgow, after acid has been thrown in her face. The woman is mute, nameless and helpless.
PC Alan McAlpine is put on protection duty outside her hospital room. He calls the woman Anna, and as they learn to communicate through finger movements, he cannot help but become emotionally, and obsessively, involved.
Twenty years later, the now Detective Chief Inspector McAlpine has been drafted in to head up a murder inquiry. Two women are already dead at the hands of a man the Press call, the Crucifixion Killer.
McAlpine is confident that he will solve the murders, until the consequences of Anna’s unsolved case emerge and he finds that he cannot put his obsession behind him. Absolution is available in airport edition paperback, at 18.50 euros.
