Steve Mosby

This is not a story about a girl who disappears. This is the story of a little girl who comes back. As if from nowhere, she appears one day on a seaside promenade, with a black flower and a horrifying story about where she's been. But telling that story will start a chain reaction of dangerous lies and deadly illusions that will claim many more victims in the years to come. When Neil Dawson's father commits suicide, he is obviously devastated. But through his grief, Neil knows something isn't right. Among his father's possessions, he finds a copy of an old novel, The Black Flower. Opening it will take Neil into an investigation full of danger, pain and subterfuge. Hannah Price is also mourning her father, having followed his footsteps into the police force. When she gets assigned to Neil's father's case, it will lead her on a journey into her own past and to the heart of a shattering secret.

For DI Andrew Hicks, solving a murder is logical: your first suspicions are usually right. So when the brutally beaten body of a young woman is found, his attention focuses closely on the ex-boyfriend. But then more bodies start appearing, all beaten beyond recognition, and there is no connection between any of the victims. Because this is a new type of killer, one who revels in chaos. To survive, Hicks must face not only a serial killer with no discernable motive, but the hidden darkness of his own past.