Shifting Skin

'the Butcher Of Belle Vue' Has Struck Again. Like The First Two Victims, The Third Has Been Partially Skinned And Dumped On Waste Ground, Her Muscles, Tendons And Ligaments Exposed To View. Only This Time, Her Face Has Also Been Removed. Jon Spicer And His New Partner, Rick Saville, Are On The Investigating Team. The Case Is Waiting For Its First Breakthrough When A Woman Approaches Jon Insisting That She Heard 'the Butcher' Claiming His Third Victim In The Next-door Room Of A Run-down Hotel In Belle Vue. But All She Has To Back Up Her Story Is A Business Card That She Recovered From The Empty Room The Following Morning - It's From A Local Escort Agency And The Name 'alexia' Has Been Scrawled On The Back. Jon's Investigation Takes Him Into The Twilight World Of Manchester's Escort Agencies And The Unscrupulous Cosmetic Surgery Industry, Ultimately Forcing Him To Confront The Propensity For Violence That Is Inherent Within Each Of Us - Even Within Himself. Second book in the critically-acclaimed DI Spicer series, also includes ‘The ideas behind the story’ and the opening of the third novel in the series, Savage Moon. Reviews 'I'll be downloading more of Chris Simms' books ASAP. I feel like I've found a hidden gem.' Amazon Reader Review (Pecking Order) Chris Simms has been quietly building one of the best police procedural series in this country. (CATHOLIC HERALD) ‘Chris Simms has never shown any reluctance to chill the blood of the reader.’ (GOOD BOOK GUIDE) ‘Nice...it’s a grim, dark and seedy picture painted here.’ (LADS MAG) ‘We are dragged into the seedy world of prostitution, domestic violence and cut-cost cosmetic surgery, and just when you think you may have guessed the outcome, Simms finishes with a burst of pace and an illuminating twist. A highly entertaining read.’ (COVENTRY EVENING TELEGRAPH) ‘Shifting Skin has all the ingredients – blood, excitement, speed, mystery and realistic, likeable characters.’ (PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH) ‘Dark and genuinely frightening, Shifting Skin had me burning the midnight oil in order to get to the end. An excellent read.’ (SHOTS MAGAZINE) Book Description 'The Butcher of Belle Vue' has struck again. Like the first two victims, the third has been partially skinned and dumped on waste ground: muscles, tendons and ligaments exposed to view. Only this time, her face has also been removed. Jon Spicer and his new partner, Rick Saville, are approached by a woman who insists she heard 'The Butcher' claiming his latest victim in the next-door room of a run-down hotel in Belle Vue. But all she has to back up her story is an escort’s business card recovered from the empty room the following morning. Jon's investigation takes him into the twilight world of Manchester's sex workers and the unscrupulous cosmetic surgery industry, eventually forcing him to confront the potential for violence within every man – even within himself. About the Author Chris Simms' acclaimed first novel in the DI Spicer series, KILLING THE BEASTS was selected as a Best Crime book for 2005 by SHOTS magazine. He was then selected as a Waterstone's Author for the Future, one of 25 writers tipped by publishers, editors and agents, to produce the most impressive body of work over the next quarter century. Since then he has been nominated several times for the THEAKSTON'S CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR and for CRIME WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION DAGGERS. Chris lives in Manchester. Find out more on his official web site, www.chrissimms.info or, for regular postings, see his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AuthorChrisSimms From Publishers Weekly An all-too-familiar serial-killer plot drives British author Simms's underwhelming second police procedural to feature Det. Insp. Jon Spicer (after Killing the Beasts). The "Butcher of Belle Vue" takes his name from the Manchester neighborhood where he dumps his female victims' flayed corpses. Spicer, who's on tenterhooks with his boss, Detective Chief Inspector McCloughlin, after his maverick efforts to catch the Chewing Gum Killer in Killing the Beasts, suspects that his new partner, Rick Saville, may be a plant to get the goods on him. That concern doesn't prevent Spicer from bending the rules as he sees fit, like obtaining an unauthorized DNA sample from a suspect. Not many readers will be shocked at the revelation of the Butcher's true identity. A competent writer, Simms needs to imbue his books with more depth and imagination if he's to stand out in the crowded serial killer subgenre. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review "A grim, dark and seedy picture painted here of the North, but it's probably one you could view anywhere." — Ladsmag " Shifting Skin has all the ingredients—blood, excitement, speed, mystery and realistic, likeable characters—for another bestseller from a writer who is fast making his mark as a top talent in the genre." — Petersborough Evening Telegraph "A highly entertaining read. I wouldn't be surprised to see it made into a TV series." — Coventry Evening Telegraph