Another from the badly overdue piles, but part of the alphabetical challenge so it's proving a useful tool if not slightly silly.
From the Blurb:
A young woman walks home by herself, the tapping of her high heels the only sound. At two o'clock in the morning, it's cold, the streets are deserted, and she thinks she's all alone. Waiting fo rher, sleeping soundly in his bed, is her baby son. When he wakes the next morning his mother still isn't back. She's never coming back. Because the streets weren't as deserted as she'd thought.
Opening Lines:
The little boy watches the other children playing. They are in the park and it is a bright sunny day with only the faintest hint of a far-off cloud.
A young woman walks home by herself, the tapping of her high heels the only sound. At two o' clock in the morning, it's cold, the streets are deserted and she thinks she's all alone. Waiting for her, sleeping soundly in his bed, is her baby son. When he wakes the next morning his mother still isn't back. She's never coming back. Because the streets weren't as deserted as she thought.
Three women are dead and Detective Inspector Lorraine Hunt is searching for a serial killer. In Houghton-le-Spring it's Feast week, a time when all hell is let loose as the fair comes to town, and a frenzy of celebration and decadence provides a temporary distraction from the grim realities of everyday life. It's not a good time to be searching for a stranger. It's not a good time to be a woman alone...