From Publishers Weekly
Introduced in Without Trace (1995), British police sergeant Trevor Joseph is recovering from depression in Compton Castle Psychiatric Hospital, where another patient insists that she saw someone bury a body on the grounds. After the body is found, Joseph's colleagues try to involve him in the investigation. Although he refuses, old habits die hard, and little by little he is pulled into the action. The victim, a former inmate at the hospital, had been buried alive, drugged and with her mouth glued shut. Two more victims, also buried alive, are discovered and official suspicion settles on the personnel and inmates of the Gothic hospital. Becoming more involved, Joseph must successfully navigate his way out of the Castle, with its surreal passages and abandoned wings, and discover its secrets in order to solve the case and emerge with a new life. John's focus on atmosphere and images of suffocation make the most of an essentially routine mystery.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Ponderous, Victorian Compton Castle Psychiatric Hospital makes an ideal setting for the various bodies, mostly of young women more or less dead, discovered planted about its widespread grounds. Temporary patient Sgt. Trevor Joseph has pretty well recovered from devastating physical wounds but needs to overcome their mental complications when he is called to investigate. The ensuing story is as much about Joseph's restoration to normal life and work as about a psychologically warped murderer's desperation and ultimate, total defeat. John provides ample clues and culs-de-sac along the way, fitting all naturally into the development of characters and narrative. Imaginatively conceived, smoothly written, and increasingly gripping, John's procedural should attract and hold readers right up to its explosive conclusion.
William Beatty
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
