The Deep Secret

Crime Writers Association 2014 Award Entry



The Handshaker's Reign Continues.



A handwritten manuscript arrives at Felix Croft's apartment on the island of Tenerife, where he fled his nightmare memories of The Handshaker. Written by master hypnotist, The Great Zepelli, it details the history of The Deep Secret, that mythical method of sending victims into a deep and instantaneous trance without uttering a word.



When The Handshaker escapes from prison, Detective Inspector Millie Matthews urges Croft back to England, where he finds himself desperately trying to unravel the coded secrets in the manuscript to stop the killing spree of The Handshaker and his unknown accomplice. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that Croft is the final target.



Is he ready?



From 1920s Heidelberg, through the war years, to modern day Britain, the race is on to uncover The Deep Secret and its promise of absolute hypnotic mastery.