Book detail

The year is 2006, three years prior to Sam Markham’s battle with The Sculptor, and the recently promoted supervisory special agent is looking forward to his new assignment in the Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico. However, before Markham can even unpack, he is called to Raleigh, North Carolina, to investigate the gruesome murders of three men. Each has been found in a rural area outside the city, stripped naked, and impaled in the ground on long wooden stakes. It is a sight not seen in the Western world for hundreds of years; a barbaric and ancient form of execution that immediately brings to mind the bloodthirsty reign of Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century Romanian prince who became the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As the media whips itself into a frenzy over the murders, The Impaler waits patiently for his next victim to be chosen. Meanwhile, Markham and his partner, forensic specialist Andy Schaap, diligently piece together a string of clues that reveals not only when The Impaler will strike next, but also the real motive behind the killings. A motive so twisted and terrifying that, unless the FBI can stop him, many more will die before The Impaler finally unleashes his ultimate horror upon the world.