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For Reasons Unknown: A gripping crime debut that keeps you guessing until the last page
Michael Wood
Two murders. Twenty years. Now the killer is back for more…A darkly compelling debut crime novel. The start of a brilliant series, perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Val McDermid, and James Oswald.DCI Matilda Darke has returned to work after a nine month absence. A shadow of her former self, she is tasked with re-opening a cold case: the terrifyingly brutal murders of Miranda and Stefan Harkness. The only witness was their eleven-year-old son, Jonathan, who was too deeply traumatized to speak a word.Then a dead body is discovered, and the investigation leads back to Matilda's case. Suddenly the past and present converge, and it seems a killer may have come back for more…
For Reasons Unknown
MICHAEL WOOD
an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
Copyright (#u2c0f2d3c-643d-51d2-8892-56f73442f821)
This is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, living or dead, real events, businesses, organizations and localities are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. All names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.
Killer Reads
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2015
Copyright © Michael Wood 2015
Michael Wood asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers 2015
Cover photographs © Shutterstock.com
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books
Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2015 ISBN: 9780008158668
Version 2018-07-11
To Mum
Thank you. For everything, thank you.
Contents
Cover (#ueafa8337-d0d9-5e38-bb34-77c785128139)
Title Page (#ubf32dc84-5e45-500e-8acf-38d532a5dcad)
Copyright (#u62d1a52b-272e-55dd-ac09-0f632a50bfa1)
Dedication (#u8f3b7b88-7c09-5b90-aeee-2b2828a97595)
Prologue (#uf40ee252-f744-5037-8b2e-7343848a9ff6)
Chapter 1 (#u8dd43fd7-bb60-50d2-a248-2e03fc563ffc)
Chapter 2 (#u14edfca6-816a-59cb-8eeb-6b58ac2b14c2)
Chapter 3 (#ua4af1a21-1508-5dd7-9a4c-12ed9dbdbaf5)
Chapter 4 (#ub49b90a2-3803-5007-8c6c-c41c57aaa49e)
Chapter 5 (#u84f0a755-6857-5856-8e38-f24d737e01c4)
Chapter 6 (#uafdcd9d8-6fce-5960-b355-fd916f4921ba)
Chapter 7 (#u179f9283-983b-5c45-a292-2b1e9450251d)
Chapter 8 (#u298151b5-a99b-50af-afe4-4b3b8729c3ac)
Chapter 9 (#uc1ebe601-4fa1-5a5e-8fa9-ecff05019d28)
Chapter 10 (#ueb2d7fae-165e-517f-ae79-3d0cf508e97d)
Chapter 11 (#ucf89f1ec-51c6-5a06-bb4e-c990a3f6eb01)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 29 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 30 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 31 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 32 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 33 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 34 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 35 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 36 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 37 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 38 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 39 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 40 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 41 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 42 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 43 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 44 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 45 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 46 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 47 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 48 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 49 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 50 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 51 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 52 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 53 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 54 (#litres_trial_promo)
Read on extract from The Hangman’s Hold (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#u2c0f2d3c-643d-51d2-8892-56f73442f821)
It could have been any sitting room in any house throughout the country but it wasn’t. It was a room in the middle of South Yorkshire Police HQ, designed to give a relaxed, homely atmosphere. From the outside, it looked friendly and inviting, but if walls could talk they would tell a different story. Here, parentless children were comforted; victims of rape and sexual abuse were given tea and sympathy; and elderly victims of brutal crimes were consoled by fresh-faced WPCs with soothing tones and a never-ending supply of tissues.
Sitting on the floor was a blond, blue-eyed eleven-year-old boy dressed in a grey tracksuit that didn’t belong to him. He was surrounded by blank sheets of paper and an array of wax crayons, coloured pencils, and felt-tip pens. Squatting next to him was a young PC, who, against orders from his superiors, had not changed out of uniform.
The door opened and in walked Dr Sally McCartney. Unlike the PC, she had softened her appearance. Gone were the severe ponytail and conservative jacket. She had removed her glasses and suffered the anxiety of touching her eyes to put in contact lenses. She shot the PC a look of indignation. He could have at least taken off his uniform jacket.
‘Hello Jonathan,’ she said. The young boy didn’t look up from his drawings. ‘My name is Sally. I’ve come to have a chat with you if that’s all right?’
He continued to scribble on the paper. Sally McCartney knelt down to his level and looked over his shoulder. He had drawn a house and was colouring in a large tree next to it.
‘Is this your house?’
Jonathan nodded.
‘It’s very nice. That’s a lovely tree too. Do you climb it?’ No reply. ‘Which room is yours?’
He pointed to the top right window with the blue curtains, then went back to colouring in the tree.
‘Is the room next to yours your brother’s?’
He nodded again.
