Acknowledgements

Writing a police procedural proved seriously challenging and I’m grateful, once again, to Adrian Summons, not just for his patience and good humour at school pick-up, but also for introducing me to some very useful mates and former colleagues. The ones I'm allowed to name and thank are Detective Inspector Brian Cleobury and Inspector Harvey Martin of the Metropolitan Police’s Southwark Borough Command, and Chief Inspector Derek Caterer of the Marine Policing Unit. As for the one I’m not allowed to name, I thank him too.

I’m indebted to Mike Katesmark for checking the medical and pathological detail and for his contribution to the text and characterization. Thanks, also, to Denise Stott and Jacqui Socrates, who never seem to mind my pestering them with daft questions; to Gareth Cooper for some eagle-eyed proofreading; and to Edward Teggin, who knows stuff his parents probably wouldn’t approve of.

Any remaining mistakes are mine.

The Camden scenes, both above and below ground, owe their accuracy to Peter Darley of the Camden Railway Heritage Trust, and their inaccuracies to my over-heated imagination. I have to point out that any attempt to retrace Lacey’s final journey through the catacombs would be illegal, highly dangerous and, thanks to several demolished basements and tunnels, quite impossible. I would like to thank Peter for being so generous with his time and his local knowledge; and also the Trust for the work they do in conserving this fascinating part of London.

Reference books I relied on include: Telling: A Memoir of Rape and Recovery by Patricia Weaver Francisco, After Silence by Nancy Venable Raine, Recovering from Rape by Linda Ledray, The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden, Jack the Ripper by Andrew Cook, Jack the Ripper: The Twenty-First Century Investigation by Trevor Marriot, Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell and Jack the Ripper: The Casebook by Richard Jones.

Transworld continue to be the best publishers in the world, with St Martins Minotaur in the US coming a very close second. My especial thanks to Sarah Adams, Lynsey Dalladay, Nick Robinson, Kate Samano and Jess Thomas on this side of the Atlantic and to Kelley Ragland and Matthew Martz on the other.

Anne Marie Doulton, Peter Buckman, Rosie Buckman and Jessica Buckman remain wise, supportive and diligent. My thanks and love to them once more.