Edge of Black
The killer is armed with a lethal weapon: an invisible pathogen that has been released into the Washington Metro.Two hundred people exhibit symptoms, but only three are pronounced dead. Dr Samantha Owen is the forensic pathologist called to consult on the case, but as she dissects the mysterious connections between the victims it becomes clear that this attack is not random.This pathogen is targeted. As Sam starts to close in on the killer’s identity, the further she propels herself into danger. Finding the truth might just lead Sam into risking her life…
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The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides
Dr. Samantha Owens is starting over: new city, new job, new man, new life. Sheâs trying to put some distance between herself and the devastating loss of her husband and childrenâbut old hurts leave scars.
Before sheâs even unpacked her office at Georgetown Universityâs forensic pathology department, sheâs called to consult on a case thatâs rocked the capital and the country. An unknown pathogen released into the Washington Metro has caused nationwide panic. Three people diedâjust three.
A miracle and a puzzle...
Amid the media frenzy and Homeland Security alarm bells, Sam painstakingly dissects the lives of those three victims and makes an unsettling conclusion. This is no textbook terrorist causing mayhem with broad strokes, but an artist wielding a much finer, more pointed instrument of destruction. An assassin, whose motive is deeply personal and far from understandable.
Xander Whitfield, a former Army Ranger and Samâs new boyfriend, knows about seeing the world in shades of gray. About feeling compelled to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. Only his disturbing kinship with a killer can lead Sam to the truth...and once more into the line of fire.
Praise for J.T. Ellison
âScintillating⦠Suspenseful⦠Startlingâ¦â
Publishers Weekly
âMystery fiction has a new name to watch.â
John Connolly, New York Times bestselling author
âTennessee has a new dark poet.â
âJulia Spencer-Fleming
âJ.T. Ellisonâs debut novel rocks.â
Allison Brennann, New York Times bestselling author of Fear No Evil
âCreepy thrills from start to finishâ
James O. Born, author of Burn Zone
âFast-paced and creepily believableâ¦gritty, grisly and a great readâ
M.J. Rose, internationally bestselling author of The Reincarnationist
âA turbo-charged thrill ride of a debutâ
Julia Spencer-Fleming, Edgar Award finalist and author of All Mortal Flesh
âFans of Sandford, Cornwell and Reichs will relish every page.â
J.A. Konrath, author of Dirty Martini
âShocking suspense, compelling characters and fascinating forensic detailsâ
âLisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Catch Me
âA Deeper Darkness has everything I love in a thriller: stunning twists and shocks, fascinating forensics and heroines I deeply cared about. J.T. Ellison is one of the best writers in the game.â
âTess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Girl
J.T. ELLISON is a bestselling author based in Nashville, Tennessee. She writes the Taylor Jackson and Samantha Owens series, which have been published in more than twenty countries. Visit her website, www.JTEllison.com, for more information or follow her on Twitter @Thrillerchick.
Also by J.T. Ellison A DEEPER DARKNESS*
ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS
14 JUDAS KISS THE COLD ROOM THE IMMORTALS SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE
*A Samantha Owens novel
For Sherrie Saintâwhose twisted mind is a writerâs delight,
and, as always, for my Randy.
Contents
âIn all men is evil sleeping;
the good man is he who will not awaken it, in himself or in other men.â
âMary Renault
TUESDAY
Chapter 1
Washington, D.C.
A single beam of light illuminated the path ahead, hovering and bobbing against the concrete walls. The tunnel was narrowing, growing tighter across his shoulder, forcing the joints to compress, pushing on his lungs. His breath came fast. He reminded himself to calm down, inhale through his nose. The mask was making it difficult to see, to smell, anything that might give him a sense of where he was. He paused, counted the number of times his limbs had moved forward. Once, twice, three times, twenty. Roger that. Five more evolutions and heâd be in place.
He squeezed forward, slithering like a snake along on his belly, his legs bunching up behind him, his arms forward, the Maglite in his left hand, his right feeling for the way. Slowly. Slowly.
There. He felt the hinge. Turned it gently, sensed the cooler air blowing up into the vent from below. Reached down into his shirt and pulled out the canister. The gloves made his hands clumsy, but he couldnât risk contact. Heâd die stuck in this shaft, wedged in above the vent, stinking and rotting until someone finally sought the source of the smell.
No one would think to look for him if he were to go missing.
He had no one. He was alone.
