The Return — Brian Freemantle

Reborn into every generation, a brutal serial killer is just steps away from true immortality

Death is no obstacle for Harold Taylor. Since the eighteenth century he has been reincarnated into a handful of identities. He won fame as an eye surgeon in Victorian England, established St. Louis's first brothels as an American settler, and survived the trenches of the First World War only to be executed in a court martial. But despite his different lives, one thing always remains the same: Harold Taylor is a murderer.

Blood is the secret to Taylor's reincarnation. At each rebirth, he marks for death those who wronged him in the past, and by spilling their blood he guarantees himself another try at life. This time he has a new plan: to avoid death altogether by leaping into the body of another. For Harold Taylor, murder is only the beginning -- unless, of course, someone can stop him.