‘Mama, wake up.’

The little girl reached for her mother’s face with one pudgy hand. But the eyes stayed closed, and the blood continued to trickle across the floor.

When the body of a young woman is found, tied to her bed and the victim of a brutal attack in her own home, Detective Morgan Brookes is sickened by what she finds as she searches the house. And unprepared for the nightmares it inspires about her childhood.

When the DNA collected gives a positive ID, Morgan can’t wait to put the attacker behind bars. But the person it matches to is already in prison. How could the DNA of someone who has been locked up for over twenty years have shown up in Morgan’s crime scene? And then they make another close match. To Morgan herself.

Faced with the impossible proof that she is somehow connected to this case, Morgan delves deep into the crimes of a killer who stalked the Lake District two decades ago. But distracted by the old case, she misses the signs that he has found a new victim. And when he strikes close to home, Morgan finally realises that she has been living on borrowed time. To find this killer, it’s clear she must confront the nightmares in her past…

A heart-racing, nerve-wracking crime thriller. Fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Patricia Gibney will be completely gripped.

Readers love Helen Phifer:

‘Brilliant… keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the last chapter… loving this series and the characters in it.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Plenty of twists… I didn’t want to put it down… suspenseful and riveting, you will want time to read it in one sitting.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Hooked from the beginning and it kept me engaged until the very last page.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Full of twists… full of tension… several times I caught myself holding my breath.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars