Beneath the Skin

The Washington Post called her last book, Killing Me Softly, "undeniably fascinating." People praised its "peak psychological suspense." Now internationally acclaimed author Nicci French proves herself the equal of top thriller writers on either side of the Atlantic with a chilling tale of three women linked by a sociopath who wants to know them intimately, and to love them...to death.

Beneath the Skin

They are three very different women: Zoe, the pretty blond schoolteacher...Jenny, the former hand model turned model mother and wife...and Nadia, the irresponsible free spirit who entertains at children's parties. They live in different parts of London, grapple with different problems, harbor different dreams. But when they are targeted by a sadistic killer, they become sisters beneath the skin.

Suddenly they all share the same dread when they approach their doorsteps, fall victim to the same rising panic as darkness falls. For someone is sending them threatening letters, macabre notes that let each one know she is being watched, studied...

Their pursuer is clever and coldly calculating, a sexual predator who takes pleasure in each woman's pain, feeds on each one's fears, and glories when their lives are turned upside down.

At first the police -- and even the women -- refuse to take the threats seriously. But eventually Zoe, Jenny, and Nadia each come to the horrifying realization that there will be no white knight riding to the rescue. Each is on her own, as someone exposes each one's secrets, relationships strain and shatter, and each woman finds herself scrutinized by the police as they search for a suspect who could be anyone: a neighbor, a lover, a co-worker, even an absolute stranger.

In Killing Me Softly author Nicci French showed us how one person's passion for another could lead to fearsome consequences. In BENEATH THE SKIN, a story even more terrifying, she once more explores the dark landscape of obsession.