Elena Forbes

Jigsaw Man

a novel

Die with me

Bad, Bad Thing

Die. Die with me. Be mine forever. That's what he had said.When fourteen-year-old Gemma Kramer's broken body is found on the floor of St. Sebastian's Church in a quiet London suburb, the official ruling is that she jumped to her death from the organ gallery. But when a witness claims to have seen Gemma kissing a much older man outside shortly beforehand, and a toxicology report reveals traces of a date-rape drug in the girl's system, a murder investigation is launched.At the helm is Mark Tartaglia, a stubborn detective known for following his hunches. It's Tartaglia's first time in charge, and he walks right into a political minefield as the murder squad turns up three more suspicious deaths — all originally ruled suicides — involving vulnerable young women falling from high places. Can Tartaglia and his team connect the dots between victims in order to find a serial killer with a chilling predilection for lonely girls and deadly heights?

Die with Me

Mark Tartaglia of the London murder squad investigates a bizarre and brutal series of murders in this gripping thriller — the fourth in this bestselling series by Elena Forbes. Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia has spent the night in a west London hotel with a woman he has just met. When he is called to the same hotel the next morning to investigate a murder, he realizes it must have taken place while he was there. The investigation takes a horrifying turn when he recognizes the young female victim. Still reeling from shock, he learns that another case he has been investigating — the body of a homeless man found in a burnt-out car — is also not what it seems. Tests reveal the corpse has been assembled from the body parts of four different people. Under mounting pressure from the media and unsure where his loyalties lie, Tartaglia must solve this macabre puzzle before the Jigsaw Killer strikes again.

A Mark Tartaglia Mystery

In the second novel in Elena Forbes’ bestselling mystery series, DI Mark Tartaglia’s investigation into a murder becomes a hunt for a possible serial killer. Hurting is her special skill. On a snowy February morning, London art dealer Rachel Tenison goes for a jog through Holland Park. Still giddy from the previous evening, her legs wobbly from too much drink and too little sleep, she falls at the bottom of an icy hill. Lying on her back, she savours the sensation of snowflakes melting on her skin and the unexpected stillness of the moment. But then there’s the sharp crack of a tree branch behind her, and a voice softly calling her name. Two days later, detectives Mark Tartaglia and Sam Donovan are assigned to the case when Rachel’s naked, frozen body is discovered in the park, bound and arranged in a strangely symbolic manner. Still haunted by “The Bridegroom,” a chillingly seductive serial killer with a penchant for lonely girls and deadly heights, they’re forced to put the past behind them as they try to catch Rachel’s murderer. But when a tip from a journalist draws their attention to grisly similarities between this and another unsolved crime, the web becomes more tangled than ever.

Our Lady of Pain

Somewhere in London, a lonely young woman is reaching out to the wrong man. It’s up to Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia and the rest of the Murder Squad to find her before a killer does. When fourteen-year-old Gemma Kramer’s broken body is found on the floor of St. Sebastian’s Church, the official ruling is that she jumped to her death from the organ gallery above the altar. But then a witness comes forward claiming to have seen Gemma kissing a much older man before the two disappeared into the church together. And when the toxicology report reveals traces of GHB and alcohol in her system, a full-scale murder investigation is launched. At the helm is Detective Inspector Mark Tartaglia, a stubborn cop known for following his hunches. It’s Tartaglia’s first time in charge, and he walks right into a political minefield as the investigation turns up three more suspicious deaths — all involving vulnerable young women falling to their deaths, all initially ruled suicides. In the whirlwind of conflicting theories from the media, criminal profilers, and cautious administrators, Tartaglia and his detectives must connect the dots between victims to find a serial killer with a chilling predilection for lonely girls and deadly heights.

Die With Me

DI Mark Tartaglia spends a night in a west London hotel with a woman he has just met. When he is called out to the same hotel the next morning to investigate a murder, he realises it must have taken place while he was there. If things weren't already complicated enough, the investigation takes a new and horrifying turn when he recognises the young female victim. Still reeling from the shock, he learns that another case he has been investigating - the body of a homeless man found in a burnt-out car - is also not what it seems. Tests reveal that the corpse has been assembled from the body parts of four different people. Under mounting pressure from the media and unsure where his loyalties lie, Tartaglia must solve this new macabre puzzle before the Jigsaw Killer strikes again.

In the early hours of the morning DI Mark Tartaglia is sent to a London hotel to investigate the murder of a young woman. When he recognises the victim, the case takes a dark and personal turn. Another case he has been investigating - the body of a homeless man found in a burnt out car - is also not what it seems. Tests reveal that the body has been assembled from the parts of four different people. Tartaglia now has a far more macabre puzzle to solve. With the clock ticking, and torn between the two investigations, he must decide where his priorities lie. Elena Forbes grew up in London. After completing a degree in French and Italian at Bristol University, she worked in portfolio management for a number of international groups before becoming a full-time writer. She lives in central London with her husband and two children. Previous books featuring DI Mark Tartaglia and DS Sam Donovan are Die With Me, Our Lady of Pain and Evil in Return. ‘For Tartaglia fans it is a worthy addition to the now four-book series. For others it is an engrossing read. Verdict: Absolute page-turner.’ Courier Mail ‘Complicated, but a compelling if somewhat gruesome read.’ Otago Daily Times

A Mark Tartaglia Thriller

The Jigsaw Man

When a young woman's naked body is discovered deep in the snowy undergrowth of Holland Park, ritualistically bound and gagged, the only clue is a verse from a bizarre poem found stuffed in her mouth. The woman is Rachel Tenison, a wealthy West End art dealer, who outwardly seemed to lead a normal, fulfilled life. However, as DI Mark Tartaglia and DS Sam Donovan scratch away at the surface, a darker, secret side begins to emerge. Then a tip-off spins everything in an entirely new direction, suggesting that the case is linked to the murder a year before in North London of Catherine Watson, a university lecturer. Still haunted by the aftermath of 'The Bridegroom' case three months before, which nearly brought about their own deaths, Tartaglia and Donovan are forced to confront their personal demons as they struggle to find what these two very different women had in common before the killer has a chance to strike again.

A young woman's naked body is found in the undergrowth of Holland Park, London. Gagged, with her wrists and ankles bound, she has been posed, almost like a statue, kneeling as if in prayer - or begging for mercy. Stuffed into the woman's mouth is a wad of paper. On the paper is a verse by a Victorian poet, renowned for his sadomasochistic tendencies. Progress on the investigation is frustratingly slow, until a link is made to another murder that occurred exactly a year earlier ...

Kriminalbetjent Mark Tartaglia tilbringer natten på et hotell i London sammen med en ukjent kvinne. Da han blir sendt til det samme hotellet neste morgen for å etterforske et drap, innser han at det må ha funnet sted mens han selv var på åstedet. Som om omstendighetene ikke allerede er kompliserte nok, tar etterforskningen en skremmende vending da han oppdager at den døde er en gammel kjenning.

Dødens forbindelser

Quercus

You could find your new best friend on the web... or discover your worst nightmare. For fifteen-year-old Gemma, it's already too late. Her body was found in the nave of the parish church in Ealing. For D.I. Mark Tartaglia and the murder squad at Barnes, it's just a matter of time before the tragedy repeats itself.

In een park in Londen wordt het lichaam van een vrouw gevonden, lichtjes bedekt met sneeuw. Het lijk is vastgebonden en ligt in een symbolische houding, als in stille aanbidding. In haar mond zit een papiertje met daarop een gedicht. Wanneer inspecteur Mark Tartaglia en hoofdagente Sam Donovan de moord op Rachel Tenison onderzoeken, blijkt dat haar leven net zo mysterieus was als haar dood. Een tip van een journalist vestigt hun aandacht op een soortgelijke moord die een jaar eerder is gepleegd. Tartaglia en Donovan kunnen niet anders dan concluderen dat ze op zoek moeten naar een seriemoordenaar.

Onze Lieve Vrouwe van de pijn

'An ending that will leave readers breathless' Booklist 'A master at complex plots' Globe and Mail After a police operation ends in catastrophe, DCI Eve West is suspended. She faces expulsion from the force, until John Duran – a violent criminal Eve incarcerated, still serving his sentence – offers to help clear her name. But nothing comes without a price. Duran wants Eve to help free a fellow prisoner, who he claims has been wrongly convicted of murder. But as her investigationtakes a dark turn, Eve finds that more than just her job is at stake, and realises Duran is a dangerous man to trust . . .

Elena Forbes

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