The Killing Moon

Book excerpt: Astrid Snow is a woman of mass distraction. ‘Are you a good woman, Ms Snow?’ A deep curve on Astrid’s lips made the world stop around her. ‘Not very.’ The beer chilled her throat, the taste reminding Astrid of the time she threw up over the neighbour’s cat. Then she smiled at her companion. They appeared to be a loving couple, the way they held hands as the candle flickered next to them. But they were the opposite of in love. The sparkle in his face wasn’t because of desire but concentration to stop him from screaming. She’d already damaged one of his fingers as she squeezed again. Astrid Snow is in America to retrieve a child from the rich father who kidnapped her. A seemingly straightforward rescue from New York leads her into small-town USA and the disappearance of a teenager, a girl whose political activism appears to have upset several people, including the local senator. Astrid has to reach into the dark underbelly of America to discover what happened to the girl who reminds her so much of herself while dealing with the consequences of a sister who hates her.