Show No Mercy
Porcelain angels arranged in a perfect semi-circle. A student strangled in her room.
When Jemima Kelly is found murdered at Lincoln University, DS Karen Hart knows the ritualistic staging is a message. As the press call the killer ‘The Angel of Death’, Karen faces an investigation with no shortage of suspects: a bitter ex-boyfriend, a charismatic professor with secrets to hide, and a fellow student who tormented Jemima online.
But Jemima’s troubled home life and her connection to a sinister secret society suggest darker motives. The society has been operating within the university for decades, collecting compromising information for blackmail. When a second victim is found surrounded by angel figurines, Karen realises the killer won’t stop.
As her wedding day approaches, Karen sets a trap—only to discover at the last moment that she’s wrong. Now she must race to save another student’s life before the Angel of Death strikes again.
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D. S. Butler
D. S. Butler doesn’t just write crime fiction—she deconstructs it with the precision of a scientist and the curiosity of someone who knows that the most dangerous secrets often hide in plain sight.
Before her novels ever found a home on bestseller lists, Butler (whose real name is Danica Britton) was elbow-deep in lab research. With a PhD in biochemistry and a career that once wove through hospital pathology labs and the University of Oxford, she was trained to ask questions, examine evidence, and look closer. Those same instincts now pulse through her thrillers—only the microscopes have been traded for murder scenes, and the puzzles involve motives instead of molecules.
Detective Karen Hart
In the misty corners of the English countryside, Detective Karen Hart stands as a quiet force against the darkness that lurks beneath the surface of seemingly peaceful towns. With a sharp mind and an unyielding commitment to justice, she unravels cases that are as complex as they are chilling.
The Detective Karen Hart series plunges readers into a world where the past never quite stays buried, and every new case threatens to reveal more than just a criminal. Each investigation offers more than a whodunit—it's an exploration of the human psyche, the secrets we keep, and the lengths we'll go to protect them. Whether it's a missing person, a gruesome murder, or a long-forgotten cold case, Karen Hart brings a unique blend of grit and empathy to the investigation, pushing her to uncover truths even when they seem too dark to face.
Detective Karen Hart consists of twelve books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
