Hysteria: An Alexander Gregory Thriller (The Alexander Gregory Thrillers Book 2)
Page 22
Durand passed weary hands over his face, then looked at the mottled skin, remembering how he’d scrubbed at them, to remove the tarnish of murder.
“I’m sorry,” he told his wife. “She was asking for money, and threatening to tell you…”
Sandrine rose from the sofa and looked him dead in the eye.
“I would have been hurt, and heartbroken by your deception, but I would have welcomed Juliette and her daughter into this family. Now…what you’ve done…”
She shook her head, in disgust.
“I can hardly stand to look at you.”
* * *
Later that afternoon, Gregory watched the press conference from the departures lounge at the Eurostar terminal at the Gare du Nord. He listened to Madeleine make a bold, brave speech about her ordeal, and smiled at the brief eulogy she gave for her friend, Juliette. But it was the final words she spoke that resonated with him the most and gave him something he scarcely had to spare.
Hope.
“When women are dying or being driven to extreme mental health conditions at the hands of powerful men in this community and around the world, I hope that we can learn one thing and remember it in times of sadness such as this. Whether you happen to be a man or a woman, or identify as neither, I am she, and she is me. We are only as good as the world we create around us and I, for one, believe we can do better—for our sons and for our daughters.”
As the press clamoured to throw questions about her dealings with Maison Leroux, Gregory spotted a little red-headed girl in the arms of her grandmother, standing to the side of the platform.
“Bonne chance,” he said, before hitching a holdall over his shoulder and making his way to the platform.
It was time to go.
Alex Gregory will return in—
BEDLAM
In a world gone mad, who can you trust?
Fresh from a high-profile case in the Paris fashion world, elite forensic psychiatrist and criminal profiler Dr Alexander Gregory receives a call from the New York State Homicide Squad. The girlfriend of a notorious criminal has been admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and can no longer testify in his upcoming trial. Without her, their case will collapse but, amidst reports that the staff are as unpredictable as their patients, who can the police trust?
In desperation, they turn to an outsider and now Gregory must find the courage to step inside the fortified walls of Buchanan Hospital to uncover the truth. The question is, will he ever be the same again?
Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Catskill Forest.
Don’t miss book #3 of the Alexander Gregory Thrillers—
available in February 2020!
If you would like to be kept up to date with new releases from LJ Ross, please complete an e-mail contact form on her Facebook page or website, www.ljrossauthor.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, best known for creating atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series of Northumbrian murder mysteries which have sold over four million copies worldwide.
Her debut, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and reached number one in the UK and Australian charts. Since then, she has released a further fifteen novels, all of which have been top three global bestsellers and thirteen of which have been UK #1 bestsellers. Louise has garnered an army of loyal readers through her storytelling and, thanks to them, several of her books reached the coveted spot whilst only available to pre-order ahead of release.
Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland. She enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.
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If you would like to be kept up to date with new releases from LJ Ross, please complete an e-mail contact form on her Facebook page or website, www.ljrossauthor.com
If you enjoyed Hysteria, why not try the bestselling DCI Ryan Mysteries by LJ Ross?
HOLY ISLAND
A DCI RYAN MYSTERY (Book #1)
Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered, and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory.
When former local girl Dr Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface making her confront her difficult past. She and Ryan struggle to work together to hunt a killer who hides in plain sight, while pagan ritual and small-town politics muddy the waters of their investigation.
Murder and mystery are peppered with a sprinkling of romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set on the spectacular Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne, cut off from the English mainland by a tidal causeway.
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