They have never seen a murder like it - but something about this killer is all too familiar...

A new type of serial killer is stalking the streets of New York - one more devious and disturbing than ever before.

A talented tattoo artist is using poison instead of ink. His victim is a young woman. And on her skin he's left a message: 'the second'.

Processing the scene, NYPD detective Lincoln Rhyme and his associate Amelia Sachs find just one trace of evidence. A scrap of paper that connects this case with one they will never forget: the killer they called The Bone Collector...

'Outstanding . . . Deaver proves himself a grandmaster of the genre as each surprise leads to an even bigger surprise, like a series of reverse Russian nesting dolls.' - Starred Review, Publisher's Weekly