Heather Evans left home as a teenager and never enjoyed a great relationship with her mother, Colleen. Now she returns to bury Colleen, who has committed suicide. Dealing with her grief and bad memories is hard enough. But as Heather sorts through the house and its contents, she makes a horrifying discovery: a cache of letters, dating back decades, that Colleen has exchanged with notorious serial killer Michael ‘The Red Wolf’ Reave.

Reave has been in jail for more than 20 years for the brutal murders of many women, whose bodies were left adorned with flowers. Heather, a journalist who left her previous job under a cloud, contacts the police. When another woman is killed, decorated with flowers just like Reave’s victims, Reave is the only person who can help. He will speak – but only to Heather. Heather tries to unravel the story, becoming painfully aware of how little she knew or understood her mother. But someone is equally keen that the past stay hidden. Can Heather stop further killings, or will she become the next victim?

Jen Williams’ friend told her to ‘write a scary book’ and she has succeeded. This is a gripping page-turner, with a different spin on the serial killer angle. The story switches back and forth between the past and present, ratcheting up the tension to a terrifying finale.

Reviewed by Melinda Woledge