Sorrow Bound: A Detective McAvoy Novel

Det. Sgt. Aector McAvoy is suffering through mandated sessions with psychologist Sabine Keane while helping his boss, Det. Supt. Trish Pharaoh, track down a vicious killer, in Mark’s powerful third novel featuring the Yorkshire detective (after 2013’s Original Skin). With a second brutal murder, a pattern emerges that connects the victims to a serial rapist, Sebastien Hoyer-Wood, who was nearly killed by the husband of one of his victims. Meanwhile, Aector’s wife, Roisin, foils a robbery by midlevel drug boss Adam Downey, earning his wrath, and Det. Constable Helen Tremberg finds herself under threat of blackmail after a single debauched evening. Mark adroitly weaves all these threads together during a sweltering Hull summer full of lowering clouds but no rain, “a feverish heat; a pestilent, buzzing cloak.” The physically imposing Aector, a terrific lead, hews closely to the rules. Well-fleshed out supporting characters round out the cast. Readers should be prepared for graphic descriptions of gruesome crimes. [em]Agent: Oli Munson, A.M. Heath (U.K.). (July) [/em]