The devil's feather - Minette Walters

Have you ever wanted to bury a secret so deeply that no one will find out about it?

With private security firms supplying bodyguards in every theatre of war, who will notice the emergence of a sexual psychopath from the ranks of the mercenaries?

Amidst the turmoil of Sierra Leone's vicious civil war, the brutal murder of five women is of little consequence and no one questions the 'confessions' that were beaten out of three child soldiers. Except for Reuters correspondent Connie Burns. After witnessing a savage attack on a prostitute, Connie believes a foreigner's responsible. She has seen him before, and she suspects he uses the chaos of war to act out sadistic fantasies against women.

Two years later in Iraq, the consequences of her second attempt to expose him are devastating. Terrified, degraded and destroyed, she goes into hiding in England where she strikes up a friendship with Jess Derbyshire, a loner whose reclusive nature may well be masking secrets of her own. Seeing parallels between herself and Jess, Connie borrows from the other woman's strength and makes the hazardous decision to attempt a third unmasking of a serial killer . . .

Knowing he will come looking for her . . .