Someone out there is murdering the living… and desecrating the dead.
Detective Jamie Brooke is a woman in the depths of despair. Her career is on the ropes. Her daughter is dying — there are only hours left before the end, and decisions have to be made.
Museum curator Blake Daniel is a man on the edge of destruction. Cursed with the ability to “read” objects — to see where they’ve come from, and the bloody histories they experience — Blake splits his time between working as a researcher at the British Museum… and binge-drinking to forget his nightmare visions.
Together, these two broken souls are all that stand between London and a serial killer. A young woman has been murdered, her uterus and unborn child removed during a gala event at a college of surgeons, any of whom could have committed the crime. The only clue is a small ivory figure of a woman undergoing a Cesarean section, dating to the seventeenth century.
Body modification, grave robbery, Nazi eugenics, a laboratory that specializes in extreme genetic experiments. All come together to create a mystery unlike any Jamie has experienced, and a danger greater than any Blake has ever seen in his visions.
It will take all Jamie’s detective skills, and all Blake’s psychic abilities, to find the killer. To end the murders. To stop something that wants to destroy all that is good… and leave behind only DESECRATION.
Desecration is the first book in a thrilling new series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.F. Penn: a blend of crime, psychological thriller — and the supernatural. Find out what’s behind the world you think you know…
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Reviews
“One of the most original mystery/thrillers that I’ve read in a long while. Its topic of life and death, soul and body is harrowing and poignant, shocking and profound.” David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of ‘Murder as a Fine Art' and author of over 40 novels
“A riveting exploration of the dark side of the human heart.” – CJ Lyons, New York Times bestselling author
“In a book which takes the reader on a journey to hell and back, J.F. Penn demonstrates her huge talent for conveying the depths of human depravity.” – Rachel Abbott, Amazon UK #1 bestseller
“Not for the squeamish or faint of heart … It freaked me out and I loved it!” Gillian
“This story eviscerates its readers. It had me hunched over the screen in horror and sitting back in tears within the first two chapters. By the end of the book I was a mess, but what a ride! A meticulously researched and emotionally gripping story created by an author at the height of her powers.” Spineless Reviews
“When Penn's not plucking the reader's heart strings like a mandolin, she's grossing us out with medical/surgical gore, white-knuckling suspense, and intense psychological stress. In other words, Desecration is a great read!” Patrick
“I enjoyed this book very much. I love books that combine gore and the dark past, murder and detective work from a REAL, and emotional, person. Add an element of the supernatural... and that's me in my element for a few hours!” Kay
“It's a combination of a police procedural thriller, a historical tour of anatomy and teratology, and has a dash of the supernatural thrown in for good mix.” Andy
“This was an exceptional story to read. If you like to read novels with depth and superb character development, this is for you. The intricacies of the plot, the setting, the geography, the pathos, the action, everything about this novel is top notch. I’m definitely a Penn fan.” – D. Dobler
“J.F. Penn is a modern day literary magician. Her story telling skills are entrancing.” – Maddy Brinker
“This story is action packed, well researched and emotionally charged – as are all of J.F. Penn’s novels.” – Elizabeth Zguta
“‘Desecration' is a game-changing dark crime thriller. Displaying dashes of Steven King, Gillian Flynn, Chelsea Cain, and Thomas Harris, J.F. Penn weaves a spellbinding tale that is all at once haunting, horrifying, and hypnotizing.” – Eric Praschan
