Death by Beauty

by Lord, Gabrielle

  Gemma didn’t answer, just waved Angie off then walked back inside and out to the deck, cuddling her squirming little boy. Right now, she thought, I just want Rafi and – peace.

  CHAPTER 40

  Curled up in the big blue leather armchair, with the warm ginger coil of Taxi on her lap, she stared through the sliding doors at the pre-dawn sea and sky. Banks of murky clouds threatened the day, but beneath them, gold glowed low along the horizon.

  Slowly, in spite of everything, her mind calmed and was filled with a curious sense of gratitude. She and Rafi were safe. They’d come through the threats and their enemies had been defeated. The cases she’d been working on had largely been resolved. Eric Wilson could take some comfort from knowing that his daughter’s killer had been found. No more young women would be murdered for their beauty. Steve was safe from destruction at the hands of perjuring criminals, and Lorraine Litchfield would never again be a problem.

  She felt very sad about Mike and hoped that they’d be able to reconcile. She looked around her small apartment, where she’d lived and loved for many years. But maybe it was time to find a bigger place, and she would talk to Mike about this when he called in a week or so as he’d promised.

  She wanted to do something to express her thankfulness so went looking for a candle in the drawers of the cedar sideboard. She found one and lit it, carefully shielding the small flame with her hand, and carried it into the bedroom, where Rafi was playing quietly. She was about to place the candle on the sconce beneath the cherub hanging on the wall, but she paused. It wasn’t necessary. A sunrise ray was streaming in, and as it touched the curves and valleys of the angel’s plump cheeks, Gemma could swear he was smiling.

  OTHER GEMMA LINCOLN NOVELS

  FEEDING THE DEMONS

  Gemma Lincoln, ex-cop and owner of a security and surveillance business, has more than her fair share of skeletons in the closet. Gemma and her sister Kit’s childhoods were haunted by their mother’s murder and their father’s conviction for the crime. Thirty years later he is released from prison, causing conflict between the sisters, who have different opinions about their father’s guilt.

  At the same time a series of gruesome incidents involving slashed women’s clothing escalates into serial murder. Both Gemma and Kit become caught up in a terror linked to past secrets.

  In a gripping climax that threatens both their lives, demons from the past return to haunt their present.

  ‘A complex, masterfully paced story peppered with

  memorable characters and superb dialogue’

  Sydney Morning Herald

  BABY DID A BAD BAD THING

  Gemma Lincoln has never been busier. She’s investigating the disappearance of Benjamin Glass; she’s trying to discover who killed her old friend Shelly; and she’s also closing in on a serial killer who targets sex workers.

  But at the same time some unknown person seems determined to destroy Gemma’s business. And she suspects her boyfriend is two-timing her. Always haunted by the insecurities of her past, Gemma struggles to pull her life together in increasingly sinister circumstances.

  ‘Harrowing … and irresistibly readable.’

  Jeffery Deaver

  SPIKING THE GIRL

  PI Gemma Lincoln is brought in to investigate the disappearance of a missing schoolgirl by the principal of Netherleigh Park Ladies’ College. It is twelve months since the girl was last seen. The day after Gemma takes on the case another teenager from the exclusive school goes missing. Gemma’s best friend, Detective Sergeant Angie McDonald, is the investigating officer, but she is overworked and distracted. And Gemma’s got her own problems. She’s broken up with her boyfriend and she keeps getting the feeling she is being followed … She has no idea her life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

  Gemma discovers the missing students were messing about with web cams transmitting from their bedrooms and that they had links to a hardcore pornography site. When skeletal remains are confirmed to belong to one of the girls, Gemma pushes hard to uncover deadly secrets. But will her actions endanger the life of another student? Will Gemma be able to catch the murderer before they kill again?

  ‘superbly written psychological thriller …

  Gemma fans should fasten their seatbelts’

  Australian Women’s Weekly

  SHATTERED

  A young boy runs down the hallway stairs as his family are shot, one by one, at the front door. His eyes catch those of the killer. For a split second they stare at each other – Hell, what’s the kid doing here? – before three shots tear into his body.

  Private investigator Gemma Lincoln and Detective Sergeant Angie McDonald take on the case, tracking down the brutal killer and piecing together fragments of evidence which hint that the shooter might have been a cop.

  Meanwhile, Gemma is dealing with a runaway schoolgirl, searching for a young woman who does not want to be found, and grappling with the biggest question of her life.

  Who is going to help her find the answer? Or is this something Gemma has to decide on her own?

  ‘keeps readers turning her pages’

  Bulletin

  ‘delivers novels of criminal excellence’

  Weekend Australian