First Kill — Laurent Boulanger

74,000 WORDS TOM HOWARD BEST MYSTERY NOVEL HONOURABLE MENTION Dr Kristina Melina is a forensic consultant for the VFSC. On a hot night she finds herself at a crime scene where a man has been decapitated and his wife almost beaten to death. Clues indicate that the assault is the work of Walter Dunn, a close friend of the couple. But as Dr Melina and her partner Frank Moore track down the killer, someone gets to him before they do, and they now have a double homicide on their hands. Caught in a strange triangle between those left behind and those who are forced to move on, Dr Melina finds her life turned upside down as she relentlessly tracks down the real murderer before she becomes the next victim.