The Button Man

I am (as you may know) a big fan of Mark Pryor’s Murder Mystery Novels and I’m excited that the 4th book in the series “The Button Man” is to be released on 1st October 2014 in the UK (I believe it is already available in the United States with a release date of 2nd September 2014).

In this prequel to The Bookseller, former FBI profiler Hugo Marston has just become head of security at the US Embassy in London. He’s asked to protect a famous movie-star couple, Dayton Harper and Ginny Ferro, who, while filming a movie in rural England, killed a local man in a hit and run.  

The task turns from routine to disastrous almost immediately. Before Hugo even meets them, he finds out that Ferro has disappeared, and her body has been found hanging from an oak tree in a London cemetery. Hours later a distraught Harper gives Hugo the slip, and Hugo has no idea where he’s run off to. 

Taking cues from a secretive young lady named Merlyn, and with a Member of Parliament along for the chase, Hugo’s search leads to a quaint English village. There, instead of finding Harper, more bodies turn up. Teaming with local detectives and then venturing dangerously out on his own, Hugo struggles to find connections between the victims. Is this the work of a serial killer—or something else entirely? Knowing he’s being tailed, the killer prepares for the final, public act of his murderous plan, and Hugo arrives just in time to play his part. . .

Exciting stuff! Mark’s second novel in the series “The Crypt Thief” has done much (in my view) to raise awareness of Jane Avril’s life especially to a modern audience and I will be eternally grateful for this and Mark’s kind acknowledgement that exists within this novel.

For those interested the books in the series to date are as follows: -

The Bookseller (2012)
The Crypt Thief (2013)
The Blood Promise (2014)
The Button Man (A Prequel – 2014)

Happy reading!