Carter Blake

The first thing you should know about me is that my name is not Carter Blake. That name no more belongs to me than the hotel room I was occupying when the call came in.When Caleb Wardell, the infamous 'Chicago Sniper', escapes from death row two weeks before his execution, the FBI calls on the services of Carter Blake, a man with certain specialised talents whose skills lie in finding those who don't want to be found. A man to whom Wardell is no stranger.

When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she's seen this MO before - two and a half years ago on the other side of the country. A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers who have broken down. The press dub the killer the Samaritan, but with no leads and a killer who leaves no traces, the police investigation quickly grinds to a halt.

It's been five years since Carter Blake parted ways with top-secret government operation Winterlong. They brokered a deal at the time: he'd keep quiet about what they were doing, and in return he'd be left alone. But news that one of Blake's old allies, a man who agreed to the same deal, is dead means only one thing - something has changed, and Winterlong is coming for him.

Fifteen years ago, an unidentified killer terrorised Northern Georgia, killing hikers with two shots from a pistol before disposing of the bodies along the remote trails and in the rivers in the vicinity of Blood Mountain. The killer was never brought to justice. Now, Carter Blake has returned home for the first time in many years. The visit stirs old memories, including a girl from school who vanished without a trace.