Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2012.
May 2012 Book of the Month.
S.J. Bolton, known to her friends as Sharon, has become established as one of England's foremost crime writers. She is right up there with Martina Cole - or for that matter - the male American James Patterson. In fact, in 94 chapters, this book races along as quickly as the best that Patterson has delivered. Young policeman Lacey Flint is personally, and thus emotionally, involved in her first murder case - and so, as the reader, are you.
As she leaves a south London estate one night, DC Lacey Flint is horrified to find a woman has been viciously stabbed, right next to Lacey's car. Thrown headlong into her first murder hunt, Lacey's quiet life changes overnight. Then Lacey receives a familiar hand-delivered letter, written in red blood, and it is clear the police have a Ripper copycat on their hands. Lacey must be the bait if they are to prevent a second, brutal murder. But can this inexperienced DC outwit a killer whose infamous role model has never been found?...
Born in Lancashire, Sharon Bolton trained as an actress and a dancer, has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has a degree in drama and an MBA. She pursued a successful career in PR and marketing, but her career break to start a family enabled her to write her first novel, Sacrifice, which has been inspired by her fascination with British traditional folklore. In 2011 S. J. Bolton was shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library, awarded to an author for a body of work.