When the Metropolitan Police fail to realise a serial killer is at work London ignites over the fact that the killers victims are young black & mixed race boys. Institutionalised racism is claimed by the communitys activists & tabloids alike. Acting Superintendent Thomas Lynley is given the case & his Scotland Yard task force is soon handling more killings & a looming tragedy. Elizabeth George brings to the familiar subject of the serial killer a freshness & clarity of vision that provide illuminating insight into the psychological complexity of the tortured criminal mind. She does so within a richly textured thrillingly suspenseful narrative that defies any reader to predict its outcome. Nor does she neglect our favourite characters whose private lives provide an engrossing counterpoint to their professional duties.