Chief Inspector Wexford, injured in a car bombing, must rely on Detective Mike Burden to catch a killer in what appears to be a murder without motive Chief Inspector Wexford couldn't know that the bundle of rags in the parking garage concealed a body-he'd just been doing a bit of light shopping, after all, not looking for dead housewives. Wexford won't be on the case for long; a car bomb sends him to the hospital, and Inspector Mike Burden must match wits with a would-be murderer. But just how close to the edge of madness must Burden go to catch a killer? With rich characterization Rendell plumbs the depths of human character, revealing the secrets that lie hidden in the most ordinary lives.