The Pool of Unease — Catherine Sampson

Robin Ballantyne is investigating the murder of a British man in Beijing. His headless body was found in woods by an icy, fetid lake - is his death linked to a recent series of brutal attacks on women? Meanwhile, late one freezing night, private detective Song rescues a young boy from a fire on a building site. With witnesses appearing from the murky surrounds, bloody clothes on the ground but no body, and flames blazing around him, Song panics and flees - still clutching the boy. From the smog of the capital to the poverty-stricken countryside, and from the mansions of millionaires to a disused quarry where the children of scavengers root among the rubbish, Song and Robin must unravel the truth behind the murders before they find themselves silenced - and before the killer can make another sinister move...