Medical examiner Sara Linton and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver take a trip from the pressures of Heartsdale (in the hope of straightening out their relationship), but a detour to Jeffrey's hometown lands them in the most difficult case of their career.

Readers are probably growing weary of the inevitable comparison novels like Slaughter's draw with those of Thomas Harris--and rightly so. But the trouble is, such comparisons are right on the nail for Slaughter. She may not quite have the older writer's authority, but she is undoubtedly skilled at creating a delicious, unsettling tension in the reader--as is very much the case in Indelible. And she's careful, too, to ensure that the relationship between Sara Linton and Jeffrey Tolliver isn't sidelined by the accelerating tension--that relationship is moved on considerably here. The fulsome praise on the jacket from such fellow scribes as John Connolly and Michael Connelly is more than professional courtesy here--they're fully justified by the work on offer.--Barry Forshaw