Eleanor closed her eyes tightly against the image in front of her. Another innocent life taken, another family left grieving.

Detective Inspector Eleanor Raven arrives at the derelict power station briefed on the murder scene inside. A beautiful young woman has been found, her body posed and a cherry-red lipstick painted across her mouth. But when she catches sight of the engagement ring crusted with blood on her delicate finger, Eleanor pushes back on the grief it provokes. Lydia Greystein had so much to live for. The only way Eleanor can help now is to find the killer responsible, and she and her team immediately set to work.

And when another woman is found, bound in the same ritualistic stance and wearing the same bright red lipstick, Eleanor’s case becomes more twisted and urgent than ever. But struggling to unpick the killer’s motivations, the team is at a loss until Eleanor finds a link between the victims and a cold case, an unsolved death with a connection to her own personal life. To follow the clues now risks bringing her secrets into the open.

But as Eleanor begins to understand the killer, he starts to understand her, too.

Eleanor must solve this case before more women are taken. Could the secrets she keeps from those closest to her be the final clue in this case...or will they ultimately cost Eleanor her life?

A fast-paced, tense, and completely gripping mystery thriller that will keep you hooked. Karen Long will be the newest favorite crime author for fans of Lisa Regan, Angela Marsons, and Robert Dugoni.

Cry for Mercy was previously published as The Safe Word.