Body language - James Hall

From an author hailed by the New York Times as 'the master of suspense' comes an electrifying thriller shot through with dark humour - about a female forensic photographer on the trail of a brutal killer with ties to her past.

When Alexandra Rafferty was a girl, something unspeakably cruel happened to her on a summer afternoon. Only her father knew about it - or so she thought. Now a forensic photographer for the Miami PD, Alexandra remains haunted by that horrible day, and it colours all of her relationships. Stan, her loutish husband, drives a security van and has his own mindbending agenda. Her not-altogether-there father is more and more dependent and less and less dependable. And her work photographing crime scenes has become a life-consuming obsession.

Now Alexandra is about to get caught up in a gruesome series of rape-murders that seem to speak to her long-hidden past. But before she can understand the killer's message, her personal life spins out of control, sending Alexandra on the run - from her husband, from the crooks after him, from a surprisingly persistent boyfriend, and from a killer who's bent on making sure Alexandra won't live long enough to translate his message.