Synopsis
Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is forever haunted by the unexplained disappearance of his wife, Sandy, nearly ten years ago. Ever since she went missing, he’s been consumed with finding out what happened to her. Finally, he may be moving on. He has fallen in love and is going to marry his girlfriend, Cleo, who is pregnant with their child.
But his life is put on hold when, after a wild New Year’s Eve ball, a woman is brutally raped as she returns to her hotel room. A week later, another woman is attacked. Both victims’ shoes are taken by their attacker. Grace soon realizes that these new cases bear remarkable similarities to an unsolved series of crimes in the city back in 1997. The perpetrator had been dubbed “Shoe Man” and was believed to have raped four women before murdering his fifth victim and vanishing. Could this be a copycat, or has Shoe Man resurfaced?
When more women are assaulted, Grace becomes increasingly certain that they are dealing with the same man. By delving back into the past—a time when Sandy was still in his life—he may find the key to unlocking the current mystery. Soon Grace and his team find themselves in a desperate race against the clock to identify and save the life of the new sixth victim, as he struggles with a chapter in his life he thought he had put behind him at last.
Publishers Weekly
Det. Supt. Roy Grace and his major crimes team discover disturbing similarities between two Brighton rapes in the thrilling sixth entry in James's popular U.K. crime series (Dead Simple, etc.). In particular, the rapist used the women's shoes to violate his victims. In 1997, a similar series of rapes occurred in Brighton, committed by someone known only as the "Shoe Man." The Shoe Man had five confirmed victims, but Grace always suspected that 22-year-old Rachael Ryan, who disappeared soon after the rapes ceased in 1997, was the Shoe Man's only murder victim. Grace's failure to find Rachael's body has haunted him since. James ably shifts between the present-day investigation, with its numerous suspects, who all appear guilty of something, and the earlier inquiry. The disappearance a decade earlier of Grace's wife, Sandy, is another ongoing mystery that will leave readers eager for the next installment. (Dec.)