A Dark, Divided Self - (A Will Traynor Forensic Mystery) by A J Cross (Paperback)

About the Book

The badly decomposed remains of a young woman are discovered just outside Birmingham, identified as a Manchester University student who disappeared three years earlier. Why would the killer transport the victim on an eighty-mile journey? Criminologist Will Traynor believes that finding the answer to that question is the key to cracking the case.

Book Synopsis

When the decomposed remains of a young woman are discovered just outside Birmingham, criminologist Will Traynor is drawn into a baffling investigation.

"Plenty of unexpected twists sure to set pulses racing, leading to a shock ending guaranteed to blindside even the most experienced thriller reader" - Booklist Starred Review

When the badly decomposed remains of a young woman are discovered in an isolated wooded area just outside Birmingham, the victim is quickly identified as Amy Peters, a Manchester University student who disappeared three years earlier. She is one of five young women who vanished from the streets of Manchester within a two-year period.

Called in to assist the police investigation, criminologist Will Traynor believes they are looking for an intelligent, socially confident individual, someone adept at covering his tracks. But why would the killer transport the victim on an eighty-mile journey from Manchester to Birmingham? If he can find the answer to that question, Traynor believes he has the key to cracking the case.

But at every stage of the investigation, the killer seems to be one step ahead of him. If he's going to outsmart him, Will realizes he's going to have to play this twisted individual at his own deadly game.

Review Quotes

All the elements of a winning puzzler: a sympathetic heroine, a complicated case, and a crisis to lend a sense of urgency that justice be served-- "Kirkus Reviews on Cold, Cold Heart"

Outstanding ... Cross, herself a forensic psychologist, plays fair with the reader right up to the surprising conclusion

-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Cold, Cold Heart"

Plenty of unexpected twists sure to set pulses racing, leading to a shock ending guaranteed to blindside even the most experienced thriller reader

-- "Booklist Starred Review"

A skillfully written police drama with plenty of twists-- "Booklist on Dark Truths"

Characters with notable depth, a provocative plot, and a nifty twist, make this a procedural to savor-- "Booklist on Cold, Cold Heart"

Cross pulls no punches in a shocking tale of crime and punishment-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Readers will find themselves warming to Watts, Traynor, and Judd in this clever and absorbing roller-coaster ride of a procedural, and the authentic-seeming depiction of modern policing, along with a devastating conclusion, makes it a gripping and entertaining read for fans of British procedurals-- "Booklist on Devil in the Detail"

About the Author

A.J. Cross is a forensic psychologist with over twenty years' experience in the field. She lives in Birmingham with her jazz-musician husband. As well as the Will Traynor series, she is the author of five Kate Hanson Cold Case mysteries.