The Poison Artist

Book excerpt: “An enigmatic woman comes between a toxicologist and a murderer in this hypnotic and disturbing thriller” set in the shadowy fog of San Francisco (Guardian, UK). Caleb Maddox is a San Francisco toxicologist studying the chemical effects of pain. He’s out drinking after a bad breakup when a hauntingly seductive woman sits down beside him. He talks to Emmeline over absinthe, but their encounter is fleeting. She brushes her lips on his ear and disappears. He must find her. As Caleb scours the city, he begins helping the city’s medical examiner with a serial-murder investigation. Soon the search for the killer entwines with Caleb’s hunt for Emmeline, and the closer he gets to each, the more dangerous his world becomes. “A wicked mix of Poe, The Silence of the Lambs, and Vertigo,”* The Poison Artist spins a thrilling tale of obsession, damage, a man unmoored by an unspeakable past, and a woman who offers the ultimate escape (New York Times–bestselling author William Landay). “An electrifying read . . . I haven’t read anything so terrifying since Red Dragon.” —Stephen King “Magnificent, thoroughly unnerving . . . I dare you to look away.” —Justin Cronin