Female students were going missing from the Universities in Manchester and no one had noticed. That was until one of them turned up dead in a pile up on the Leesworth by-pass - but she hadn’t died in the crash. It was obvious from her injuries and the way her mouth had been mutilated, that she’d been kept somewhere and tortured over time.
A bad enough start to the new week but it was soon to get much worse. Another body is found and this one has been dead a lot longer. The forensic evidence begins to build and DI Calladine and his Sergeant, Ruth Bayliss are sure these two young women were killed by the same person. There are similarities – they were both American for a start. Not only that, but the name ‘Vida’ is found on livestock tags fixed to their earlobes. What’s the significance of the name? Why does their murderer choose students from the USA and what is the significance of what he does to their mouths?
On the personal front – Calladine loses his mother and becomes closer to his daughter, Zoe. Ruth is getting in deeper with Jake Ireson and doesn’t know what to do. Monika is still a problem Calladine’s yet to resolve, that is until Lydia crashes into his life again. His gangster cousin puts him forward as his alibi for a murder and to top it all, Calladine finds out that he’s not the man he thought he was.

Recommended to book clubs by 4 of 4 members.