J.T. Ellison

The Immortals


Скачать книгу

tion> cover

      Praise for J.T. Ellison

      “Carefully orchestrated plot twists and engrossing characters… The story moves at breakneck speed… Flawed yet identifiable characters and genuinely terrifying villains populate this impressive and arresting thriller.”

      —Publishers Weekly on Judas Kiss [starred review]

      “Crime fiction has a new name to watch.”

      —John Connolly

      “Combines The Silence of the Lambs with The Wire.”

      —January Magazine on The Cold Room

      “Darkly compelling and thoroughly chilling…everything a great crime thriller should be.”

      —Allison Brennan on All the Pretty Girls

      “A twisty, creepy and wonderful book…Ellison is relentless and grabs the reader from the first page and refuses to let go until the soul tearing climax.”

      —Crimespree on 14

      “[A] tight and powerful story. Judas Kiss moves at a rapid-fire rate…rushing like adrenaline through the bloodstream.”

      —The Strand Magazine

      “Flawlessly plotted, with well-defined characters and conflict…quite simply a gem.”

      —RT Book Reviews [Top Pick] on The Cold Room

      “A terrific lead character, terrific suspense, terrific twists…a completely convincing debut.”

      —Lee Child on All the Pretty Girls

      J.T. Ellison

      The Immortals

image

      For Jill Thompson (ti amo molto!)

      and my darling Randy.

      These eight words the Rede fulfill:

      “An ye harm none, do what ye will.”

      —Doreen Valiente

       The Wiccan Rede

      Because I could not stop for Death,

      He kindly stopped for me;

      The carriage held but just ourselves

      And Immortality.

      —Emily Dickinson

       Because I Could Not Stop for Death

      Contents

      Third Quarter Moon Samhain (Halloween)

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Waning Crescent Moon Twenty-five Percent of Full Hallowmas (All Saints' Day)

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      Chapter Twenty

      Chapter Twenty-One

      Chapter Twenty-Two

      Chapter Twenty-Three

      Chapter Twenty-Four

      Chapter Twenty-Five

      Chapter Twenty-Six

      Chapter Twenty-Seven

      Chapter Twenty-Eight

      Waning Crescent Moon Twenty Percent of Full Feast of Odin (All Souls' Day)

      Chapter Twenty-Nine

      Chapter Thirty

      Chapter Thirty-One

      Chapter Thirty-Two

      Chapter Thirty-Three

      Chapter Thirty-Four

      Chapter Thirty-Five

      Chapter Thirty-Six

      Chapter Thirty-Seven

      Chapter Thirty-Eight

      Chapter Thirty-Nine

      Chapter Forty

      Chapter Forty-One

      Chapter Forty-Two

      Chapter Forty-Three

      Chapter Forty-Four

      Chapter Forty-Five

      Chapter Forty-Six

      Chapter Forty-Seven

      Chapter Forty-Eight

      Chapter Forty-Nine

      Chapter Fifty

      Chapter Fifty-One

      Chapter Fifty-Two

      Chapter Fifty-Three

      Chapter Fifty-Four

      Chapter Fifty-Five

      Chapter Fifty-Six

      Chapter Fifty-Seven

      Chapter Fifty-Eight

      Waning Crescent Moon Fifteen Percent of Full Three Days Past Samhain (Halloween)

      Chapter Fifty-Nine

      Chapter Sixty

      Chapter Sixty-One

      Acknowledgments

Third Quarter Moon Samhain (Halloween)

      One

      Nashville, Tennessee

       October 31

       3:30 p.m.

      Taylor Jackson stood at attention, arms behind her back, her dress blues itching her wrists. She was feeling more than a bit embarrassed. She’d asked for this to be done without ceremony, just a simple here you go, you’re back in our good graces, but the chief was having nothing of it. He’d insisted she not only receive her lieutenant’s badge again, but be decorated as well, in a very public ceremony. Her union rep was thrilled, and at her direction, had dropped the lawsuit she’d been forced to file against the department when they demoted her without cause. Taylor was pleased, as well. She’d been fighting to get reinstated, and she had to admit it was nice to put all of this behind her. But the pomp and circumstance was a bit much.

      It had been a long afternoon. Taylor felt like a show pony, was flushed with the overly exuberant praise of her career, her involvement in catching the Conductor, a serial killer who’d killed two women back-to-back, kidnapped a third and fled Nashville with Taylor hot on his heels. She’d arrested him in Italy, and the story had immediately caught international headlines, because at the same time, she’d been party to the capture of one of Italy’s most notorious serial killers, Il Macellaio. In the world of sound bites and news at your fingertips, taking two serial killers into custody had garnered so much attention that the chief had been forced into action.

      Not only was she being reinstated; Taylor had command of the murder squad again, and her team was being reassembled. Detectives Lincoln Ross and Marcus Wade were shipped