Belinda Bauer

Twelve-year-old Steven Lamb digs in the earth around the village of Exmoor every day after school, hoping to find the body of his uncle, who disappeared years ago at the age of eleven. The most likely explanation is that he fell into the clutches of the infamous serial killer Arnold Avery, now behind bars. This obsession is a burden he inherited from his mother and grandmother, who have never recovered from this tragedy. And to bring them joy, Steven wants to bring them the body so they can finally grieve. However, despite his tireless searching throughout the region, he finds nothing. He then opts for another solution: contacting the killer. Gradually, he establishes a coded correspondence with him to avoid being intercepted by prison staff. Steven has no idea what a dangerous trap he has just set for himself. Because Arnold isn't just crazy and deranged to the extreme; he's also a gambler and has been bored in his cell for far too long. Thus begins a game that threatens to become deadly for Steven!

Exmoor National Park, England.
A teenage girl, left alone in her father's car while he went hunting in the moors, is kidnapped. A note placed on the steering wheel sounds like an accusation: "You don't love her."
Soon, around the small town of Shipcott, the scenario was repeating itself relentlessly. Children, left unattended for a few minutes in a vehicle, were kidnapped. The only clue: the same message from the culprit. No claim of responsibility, no ransom demand, no hope.
The police seem powerless. Every passing day diminishes the chances of finding the children alive, and panic grips the community. Especially since some have good reason to believe that police officer Jonas Holly, with his troubled past, is the last person who can be trusted…

Corpses don't talk, or so they say. Yet in the autopsy room, corpse number 19 has things to say… That day, Patrick Fort, an anatomy student with Asperger's syndrome, must determine the cause of a man's death. But the body lying on the dissection table is about to reveal a story quite different from the medical examiner's official conclusions. Patrick is passionate, obsessive; he wants to understand. But as he tries to unearth a truth that some are determined to hide, he digs up numerous secrets and lies, some of which concern him personally…