Messiah

Scotland Yard's Redfern Metcalfe ""gets inside killers' heads and reels them in."" But Britain's latest serial killer (an evil genius dubbed ""Silver Tongue"" for his grisly technique and distinctive ""calling card"") is the worst Red's ever seen, leaving the hardened investigator shaken to his core. While Red and his hand-picked team of detectives concoct half-baked theories and chase shadows, the elusive Silver Tongue taunts them by racking up victims. With no forensic evidence to go on, Red is forced to play an excruciating game of ""wait and see"" with the killer--sending his personal and professional life into a downward spiral. Starling's debut sustains a sense of fear and uneasiness by seamlessly moving between Red's increasing obsession with the manhunt and his haunting memories of guilt-inducing past misdeeds. When it seems the case is close to resolution, Starling manages to step up the already considerable tension, and the simultaneous story lines dramatically and unexpectedly converge. (Sept.)