The Culling — Anthony Hulse

A series of child abductions are linked to Jules Devlin's touring circus. A team of CID detectives are deployed and attempt to unravel the mystery. The performers, including a clown, a lion-tamer, a fire-eater, a dwarf and conjoined twins harbour a terrifying secret. Jimmy Crawford, an ex-CID detective turned private investigator is hired by the parents of a teenage girl, who believe that her disappearance is linked to the circus. Crawford is aided in his task by a child psychologist and a priest. Through a handicapped boy, they discover that the circus is not what it seems. DS Jenny Stiles, believing that Devlin is the head of a paedophile ring, soon discovers something more sinister. Could the evil carnival be responsible for the burning of churches and their priests? The Culling is a supernatural thriller set in Whitby and Dartmoor. From Edinburgh, Cleveland and Lourdes in France, strange and unexplainable episodes occur, which leads Jenny to believe that Devlin is indeed evil.