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 politics and religion, his crimes cut all 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' David Peace 'Hugely impressive .

a deeply satisfying and sophisticated thriller which approaches the Northern Ireland conflict with the intelligence it deserves' Financial Times.