«Fairest Creatures» by Karen Taylor

A serial killer's obsession with the preservation of beauty sees him return to stalk the streets of Penzance in the summer of 2019. It's 23 years since his first victims went missing, setting DI Brandon Hammett on the hunt for the Sleeping Beauty Killer.

A beautiful woman is being held captive in an unknown location.

Although not physically injured, she is manacled to a chair in a darkened, sinister dining room. Her captor is polite but menacing. Her female companions silent spectators.

When a glass box is found in Prussia Cove, containing a conch and the ear of a missing beauty, a murder investigation is launched.

Is the Sleeping Beauty Killer back? Or is this a copycat killing?

What's clear is an evasive, clever killer is at large, presenting DI Brandon Hammett with a deadly race against time.

“A dark and sinister hunt for a serial killer had me hooked from the first page.”

Dreda Say Mitchell

“Assured and intriguing, Fairest Creatures is a novel that will grip you from the first page and hold you to the last.”

William Ryan, author of the Captain Korolev books.

“I loved this novel with its unusual viewpoints and characters. It raced along with a great pace taking the reader with it. It was easy to invest in the main characters; they were so well-drawn and rounded. I even found myself feeling sorry for the killer! This is a great debut novel from a writer I can't wait to read again. Highly recommended.”
Judi Daykin, author of the DS Sara Hirst novels.