Description

Would you give up your soul to the dragon to stop the next murder…?

KO Bannon thinks he saw something bad, very bad that New Year's Eve on the shimmering waters of the Baltimore Harbor. Homeless, adrift, and cold, KO is paralyzed with fear, certain that if he tells, the dragon he saw will surely catch him and end him.

Women are dying in Baltimore. A particular kind of young, blonde, innocent victim. And Detectives Mankiller and Ruiz's only lead is a washed-up, drunk ex-boxer who once went toe-to-toe with Sugar Ray Leonard. A man now talking about a dragon. How can they probe and interpret the memories of a drunkard? How far can they—should they—push the old man to find out what he thinks he saw while in the cocoon of a bottle?

Marty Hightower knows what they say about keeping your enemies close. Afraid of what the street bum might have seen that night under the firework-lit sky, he recruits him into his company's new rehabilitation program. KO Bannon might have been clever in the ring back in the day, but he will surely be susceptible and let slip what Marty needs to know to control him. Like the estranged daughter and grandson, who will provide the perfect safety net to stop Bannon from helping the police.

Marty will stay hidden, safe in the shadows, before he lures the next woman to him and experiences the ultimate high of watching the light of life leave her eyes…

The paths of the witness, the cops, and the murderer will inevitably collide if what is right stands in the way of saving the next life. Set in the streets and around the waters of Baltimore and perfect for fans of James Patterson, Stuart MacBride, and Michael Connelly, this atmospheric police thriller posits how far the ends should justify the means.

"A killer story with a moral core." – Mark Bergin, former detective, author of Apprehension

"The alleged dragon is the grandest mystery…Readers get a frighteningly careful murderer." – Kirkus Reviews