Small Vices — David Armstrong

As DC Jane Salt investigates a series of increasingly violent cash heists in the London area, her lover, Inspector Frank Kavanagh, is seconded to NCIS who are pursuing a serial killer targeting prostitutes in the Midlands. Kavanagh finds that things are about to become more complicated when Rachel, his beguiling ex-wife from whom he has never really broken free, makes a dramatic re-appearance in his life. Back in London, Kavanagh's boss, ACC Michael Highland, due to take up the new government appointment of 'drugs tsar' in the near future, is desperately fighting to maintain the appearance of an untarnished past. He resorts to calling in favours from contacts in high places - a dangerous strategy which could lead to trouble. As environmentalists near the site of one of the murders stage a heated demonstration, an unexpected rapport develops between the world-weary cop and a young eco-warrior which eventually helps Kavanagh unlock the mystery of the killer's whereabouts. But even with this information, can Kavanagh and long-time friend and colleague, DS Presley, act in time to prevent the death of yet another abducted street girl?