Nature of Evil — Robert W. Stephens

Rome, 1948. Italy reels in the aftermath of World War II. Chaos and depression reign and it's fertile ground for a killer to strike. Twenty women are brutally murdered, their throats slit, and their faces removed with surgical precision. Then the murders stop as abruptly as they started, and the horrifying crimes and their victims are lost to history.Over sixty years later, the killings have begun again. This time in America. The victims are prostitutes with criminal records, and all are left in public places where their mutilated corpses can be discovered quickly. It's up to homicide detective Marcus Carter to stop the crimes. But how can they catch a serial killer who leaves no evidence and no apparent motive other than an unquenchable thirst for murder? The only cryptic clue is the three letters MAI carved into the flesh of his victims. Soon the murders become personal for Marcus as he learns the killer is sending him messages that only he can interpret. But can he solve their mystery and stop a killer who has become a master at the game of death?