Our Lady of Pain

When a young woman's naked body is discovered deep in the snowy undergrowth of Holland Park, ritualistically bound and gagged, the only clue is a verse from a bizarre poem found stuffed in her mouth. The woman is Rachel Tenison, a wealthy West End art dealer, who outwardly seemed to lead a normal, fulfilled life. However, as DI Mark Tartaglia and DS Sam Donovan scratch away at the surface, a darker, secret side begins to emerge. Then a tip-off spins everything in an entirely new direction, suggesting that the case is linked to the murder a year before in North London of Catherine Watson, a university lecturer.

Still haunted by the aftermath of 'The Bridegroom' case three months before, which nearly brought about their own deaths, Tartaglia and Donovan are forced to confront their personal demons as they struggle to find what these two very different women had in common before the killer has a chance to strike again.

Elena Forbes has lived most of her life in London. Her first novel, Die With Me, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger.

What shall rest of thee then, what remain, O mystic and sombre Dolores, Our Lady of Pain?A young woman's naked body is found in the undergrowth of Holland Park. Gagged, with her wrists and ankles bound, she has been posed, almost like a statue, kneeling as if in prayer - or begging for mercy.Stuffed into the woman's mouth is a wad of paper on which is written a verse by a Victorian poet, renowned in his time for his sadomasochistic tendencies.Progress on the investigation is frustratingly slow, until a link is made to another murder that occurred exactly a year earlier..."Forbes is good on plot, tension and lurking evil" The Times.

When a young woman's naked body is discovered deep in the snowy undergrowth of Holland Park, ritualistically bound and gagged, the only clue is a verse from a bizarre poem found stuffed in her mouth. The woman is Rachel Tenison, a wealthy West End art dealer, who outwardly seemed to lead a normal, fulfilled life. However, as DI Mark Tartaglia and DS Sam Donovan scratch away at the surface, a darker, secret side begins to emerge. Then a tip-off spins everything in an entirely new direction, suggesting that the case is linked to the murder a year before in North London of Catherine Watson, a university lecturer. Still haunted by the aftermath of 'The Bridegroom' case three months before, which nearly brought about their own deaths, Tartaglia and Donovan are forced to confront their personal demons as they struggle to find what these two very different women had in common before the killer has a chance to strike again.

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