About this item
In this prequel to The Bookseller, former FBI profiler Hugo Marston has just become head of security at the US Embassy in London. He's asked to protect a famous movie-star couple, Dayton Harper and Ginny Ferro, who, while filming a movie in rural England, killed a local man in a hit and run. The task turns from routine to disastrous almost immediately. Before Hugo even meets them, he finds out that Ferro has disappeared, and her body has been found hanging from an oak tree in a London cemetery. Hours later a distraught Harper gives Hugo the slip, and Hugo has no idea where he's run off to. Taking cues from a secretive young lady named Merlyn, and with a Member of Parliament along for the chase, Hugo's search leads to a quaint English village. There, instead of finding Harper, more bodies turn up. Teaming with local detectives and then venturing dangerously out on his own, Hugo struggles to find connections between the victims. Is this the work of a serial killer--or something else entirely? Knowing he's being tailed, the killer prepares for the final, public act of his murderous plan, and Hugo arrives just in time to play his part. . . .
About the Author
Mark Pryor is the author of the eight (soon to be nine!) Hugo Marston mystery novels, six of which are set in Paris, France, but also feature London and Barcelona. The books have been translated into eight languages and the film and television rights were recently optioned to Like Entertainment, with a view to putting Hugo on the screen!Mark also authored two psychological thrillers set in Austin, Texas, where he lives. HOLLOW MAN and its sequel, DOMINIC, received high praise from reviewers:"[Hollow Man's] Dominic is not your grandmother's psychopath. . . . This noirish twisty tale will appeal to those who enjoy Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, and Pryor's own Sherlockian international thriller series starring Hugo Marston." - BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW "Devilishly clever ... As the mishaps escalate for the conspirators, so does the suspense, culminating in a denouement worthy of the neo-noir film classic The Usual Suspects." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW"Pryor's exquisite stand-alone is a gem. . . ." -- RT BOOK REVIEWS, 4 ½ stars (Fantastic - Keeper) "Pryor's skillful narrative crystallizes in the best possible way, in the novel's last sentence. Pryor ... can write realistically about the mind of a psychopath. Maybe that is useful for an assistant district attorney. It certainly is for a murder mystery writer." -- San Antonio Express-News"Dominic goes into action, pulling several diabolical tricks that solve the murders, simultaneously confirming Dominic's own status as a psychopath in a clever book that has a significant number of puzzles and an equal list of tantalizing answers." -- Toronto StarA former newspaper reporter from England, and now an assistant district attorney with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, in Austin, Texas, he is the creator of the nationally-recognized true-crime blog D.A. Confidential. He has appeared on CBS News's 48 Hours and Discovery Channel's Discovery ID: Cold Blood. THE BOOKSELLER was his first Hugo Marston novel and upon release was Library Journal's Debut of the Month with a starred review. RT Book Reviews called it "a fantastic debut!" and gave it 4 and 1/2 stars, and Oprah.com listed it as an "unputdownable mystery." His second in the series, THE CRYPT THIEF, was released in May of 2013 and reviewers said:"[G]ood character development, increasing levels of action and suspense, a complex and deranged antagonist, and - once again - appealing Paris settings. The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan's watch list." - Booklist"Haunting imagery in Père La Chaise cemetery sets the stage for Pryor's chilling sophomore entry, and the City of Light becomes a backdrop for Marston's adventures. The clever antagonist leads him on a merry chase that will keep the reader entertained throughout." - RT Book
