Hangman — Michael Slade

The game begins in Seattle. On Halloween night, a woman opens her door to a trick-or-treater in a Munch's Scream mask. Later, she's found hanged with one leg missing.Then, in Vancouver, another woman is found strung up in a noose with both legs missing.What binds these murders together is a game of Hangman drawn in blood at each crime scene.Years ago, both victims were jurors in a trial that sent the defendant to the gallows.As the killings mount, Inspector Zinc Chandler of Special X - the Mounties' psycho-hunters - and Seattle police Detective Maddy Thorne team up for a cross-border manhunt. To stop this vendetta, they must solve the riddle of the Hangman puzzle before a final lynching means the vigilante wins the game.Murder with gore galore, and a killer who enjoys his hobby. There's plenty of legerdemain before the trick ending. - The Globe and MailHANGMAN's escalating suspense is sustained not only by readers wondering 'whodunit,' but who will be the next to die. Every character is both a suspect and a potential victim. HANGMAN is an inventive, occasionally hilarious horror-mystery that delivers the goods by the bloody bag-full. - Quill & QuireA harrowing tale of revenge. HANGMAN is a hardboiled police procedural based on the tough realities that Slade faced every day in court. The hallmark of a Slade novel is extensive research. Readers come away not only entertained - and terrified - but also enlightened. - Cemetery DanceFascinating stuff. The research on real-life hangmen is deftly larded into the fast-paced story. - The Vancouver SunI love the Michael Slade books. A perfect combination of mystery and horror. And I love the history angles he throws in. My favorite so far has been RIPPER, or maybe HANGMAN. But I love them all. - Crime Spree Magazine