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When Nashville detective Taylor Jackson discovers a murder victim posed like a famous painting, she's drawn into an international manhunt in this bone-chilling thriller by New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison.

After being demoted, Detective Taylor Jackson is fighting to redeem herself at Nashville Metro Homicide when she is called to the scene of a nightmarish new case. A young woman is found starved to death, her emaciated body posed to echo a famous painting.

When the autopsy reveals that the victim was violated postmortem, Taylor's fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, recognizes similarities to Il Macellaio (“The Butcher”), a serial killer who has been operating in Italy for years. To further complicate the case, a Scotland Yard detective confirms similar homicides in the UK. But how could the Butcher be operating on two continents?

As the investigation spans from Tennessee to the hills of Tuscany, Taylor and Baldwin must race to find the link before the body count rises—and before whoever is watching Taylor from the shadows makes their move.

READ CHAPTER 1

Recognition

  • ITW Thriller Award, Best Paperback Original, 2010

  • Romantic Times Top Pick!

More Information

  • Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

  • Original Release Date: March 1, 2010

  • Formats: Print, eBook, audiobook

  • Print ISBN: 9781662545603

  • Audiobook Narrator: Joyce Bean

Foreign Editions

Audio Extras


Audiobook Sample

Homicide detective Taylor Jackson thinks she’s seen it all in Nashville — but she’s never seen anything as perverse as The Conductor. Once his victim is captured, he contains her in a glass coffin, slowly starving her to death. Only then does he give in to his attraction. Later, he creatively disposes of the body by reenacting scenes from famous paintings. Strangely, similar macabre works are being displayed in Europe. Taylor teams up with her fiancé, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, and New Scotland Yard detective James “Memphis” Highsmythe — a haunted man who has eyes only for Taylor — to put an end to The Conductor’s art collection. Has the killer gone international? Or are there dueling artists, competing to create the ultimate masterpiece?


Soundtrack

Praise


“Flawlessly plotted, with well-defined characters and conflict, Ellison’s latest is quite simply a gem.”
– Romantic Times Top Pick


“THE COLD ROOM combines SILENCE OF THE LAMBS with THE WIRE.”
– January Magazine


“Morbidly elegant plot twists . . . ”
– Fiction Nation


"What Jeff Lindsay’s DARKLEY DREAMING DEXTER does for Miami, Ellison’s Jackson novels do for Nashville.” 
– Nashville Scene


“Gritty and realistic and filled with intense action.” 
– Midwest Book Review