The Psalm Killer

Chris Petit

16 June 2016
9781509801169
672 pages

Synopsis

With an introduction by Alan Moore

It was always the same nightmare. Cross saw them lined up in rows, in stretches of city wasteland - those derelict spaces once described to him by a child as the blank bits where things had been before they'd got blown up.

It is 1985 and a killer moves through Belfast's blighted streets. In a time and place ruled and divided by political and religious differences, this series of crimes cuts across all those boundaries. Detective Inspector Cross, together with Westerby, a young policewoman, enters a maze of conspiracy and paranoia, and, as the investigation draws closer to the truth, they find themselves in a nightmare world, with little hope of escape.

The Psalm Killer is Chris Petit's epic thriller set during the Irish Troubles. Masterfully written, disturbing and exciting, it is a book of immense intelligence and a real classic of its genre.

One of the most compelling, haunting and original thrillers I have ever read, by one of Britain's most visionary writers and film-makers.
In the tradition of Silence of the Lambs . . . a deeply satisfying and sophisticated thriller which approaches the Northern Ireland conflict with the intelligence it deserves
An example of the genre near its best. Gorky Park with something to spare; well worth anyone's weekend