Nine Elms

India was talking animatedly with Fizzy Martlesham, a severe-looking woman with her hair scraped back from her large forehead.

On the coldest days, the water plunged into her skin like a knife, but she pushed through. A healthy body really was a healthy mind. It was just water. She knew how a knife felt. The six-inch scar on her abdomen was always the first place to feel the cold.

He clamped the cloth over Jake’s mouth and nose, pushing his head back against the wall. Jake smelled sharp, strong chemicals, and his vision flooded with red and then black, and then he was

and in the eyes of the law, he’ll be an adult in less than two years. You’re

You were both on night shifts the day Kaisha went missing?

like a hangover mixed with dehydration. It

Never give up. Never. Life is worth fighting for. Never drink again.

had strange features. It was as if baking soda had been added in the womb. His skin was smooth, but his face was puffy with oversize, rubbery lips and fleshy, hooded eyes, and his nose had a bulbous quality. He

Kate caught a glimpse of the London skyline lit up. There were millions of lights, pinpricks in the black fabric of the sky, symbolizing the homes and offices of millions. Kate wondered which light belonged to the Nine Elms Cannibal.

smirking at the camera. His eyes

Every morning, whatever the weather, she would swim in the sea. It made her feel alive. It lifted her mood and was an antidote to the darkness she carried in her heart.

[A] mark on her face was a split lip, just starting to scab over, which had been caused by an irate-drunk resisting arrest a few days before. She'd felt no fear when dealing with the drunk, and didn't feel ashamed that he'd hit her. Why did she feel shame after being hit on by the sleazy businessman? He was the one with the sad, saggy grey underwear and the stubby little manhood. (p. 8-9)

Kate wondered if men felt guilt so acutely.

There was something hypnotic and deeply soothing about watching the sea. It was always changing.