Book excerpt: With the same unflinching eye and nonstop suspense that marked her acclaimed debut, Blue Mercy, Illona Haus presents her second Kay Delaney novel -- a twisted journey into the dark recesses of a killer's mind. A crime that defies imagination.... The killer doesn't leave a body. Only a heart -- a human heart -- savagely ripped from an unknown victim and left on the snowy grounds of an elite private high school. Is it a calling card for the Baltimore police or a demented message for someone else? A hunt that must defy all odds.... Uncovering tenuous ties to previous unsolved murders, Homicide Detectives Kay Delaney and Danny Finnerty are drawn into an investigation unlike any they have ever worked. As a series of brutal crimes unravels and the clock ticks -- too fast -- on a new victim, Kay and Finn are called upon to brave the darkest side of human nature and obsession. Can they put a stop to a madman's terrifying spree?