When a young teenage girl is found brutally murdered in East London, veteran Detective Inspector Elaine Hope catches the case alongside her superior, Marcus Benford. Benford suspects Peter Willend, an ex-military surgeon from Texas and one of the last people to see the victim alive, but Elaine isn't so sure. But when Benford is taken ill, and Elaine takes over the case, she's given the chance to develop a new line of enquiry.

But now she's in charge of a bungled case and has released the only suspect. Her superiors are doubtful, and London's tabloids are screaming for a scapegoat. With her protégé, Liz Barker, Elaine chases leads that entangle her in a web of secrets tied to a multi-national criminal organization. And as she tracks her prime suspect through wintery London boroughs, other, darker hunters come out from the shadows.

Elaine's life gets even more complicated when Willend, her former suspect, shows romantic interest, despite personal tragedies he won't reveal to anyone—but Elaine has her own secrets to match. Souls of Men, A. R. Ashworth's masterful debut, is sure to appeal to readers of Sharon Bolton and Deborah Crombie.

Emily Barnes lives in Laughlin, NV. An artist herself, she has published more than sixty mystery short stories and six novels.