Hangman: A Novel

A detective with no one to trust

A killer with nothing to lose

Detective Emily Baxter is still reeling from the Ragdoll case, and from the disappearance of her friend William “Wolf” Fawkes. Despite her reluctance to jump into another gruesome case, she’s summoned to a meeting of a new FBI/CIA/UK law enforcement task force in New York. There, she is presented with photographs of the latest copycat murder: a body contorted into a familiar pose, strung up from the Brooklyn Bridge, the word “BAIT” carved deep into its chest.

As the media pressure intensifies, Baxter is ordered to assist with the investigation and attend the scene of another murder, again with a victim inscribed with a word—“PUPPET.”

The murders continue to grow in spectacle and depravity on both sides of the Atlantic, and the team helplessly plays catch-up. Baxter must shake off the grief and fear that have paralyzed her for the last year so she can stop another terrible killer before it’s too late.

A detective with no one to trust

A killer with nothing to lose

Detective Chief Inspector Emily Baxter is still reeling from the Ragdoll murders, and from the disappearance of her friend William “Wolf” Fawkes. Despite her reluctance to jump into another gruesome case, she’s summoned to New York for a meeting of a new task force comprised of federal and local law enforcement from both the US and the UK. There, she is presented with photographs of the latest copycat murder: a body contorted into a familiar pose, strung up from the Brooklyn Bridge, the word “Bait” carved deep into its chest.

As media pressure intensifies, Baxter is ordered to assist with the investigation, and at the scene of a murder-suicide, she discovers the same word scrawled across the victim, but carved across the corpse of the killer—“Puppet.”

The murders continue to grow in both spectacle and depravity, on both sides of the Atlantic, and the team helplessly plays catch-up. Baxter must shake off the grief and fear that have paralyzed her for the past year so she can stop another terrible killer before more lives are lost.