As Peter Carlyle waves his wife, children and brother-in-law off on a sailing holiday, all they have in mind is lying back and relaxing. But as a violent storm breaks out, an explosion causes the boat to vanish and the family are lost, presumed dead. Until now. When a message in a bottle is washed up on a shore.

When Alex Cross is called to investigate a murder scene, he is shocked to find that the victim is an old friend. Cross begins the hunt for the perpetrators of this cruel crime. He is drawn into a dangerous underworld of Washington DC that leads him on a journey to the Niger Delta where heroin dealing, slave trade and oil and gas theft are rife.

Through all their adventures, the bond of the Sisterhood has remained steadfast and unshakeable. But for the first time, the Sisterhood verges on falling apart when the ladies have to choose between two assignments. The first job guarantees a huge paycheck; the second offers a presidential pardon - and a chance to finally emerge from hiding.

From the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of WHITE LIES and SIZZLE AND BURN, comes the new novel in Jayne Ann Krentz's seductive and gripping ARCANE SOCIETY series.

Twenty years after creating Kay Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell has written her most extraordinary novel yet