A secret society, an infamous 18thcentury murderer, a conspiracy to undermine those in power and a man’s vengeful agenda to achieve what he seeks.
An initiation that welcomes those into the Brotherhood, welcomes another that purposes could not have been foreseen. A man initiated to carry out work to fulfil a vendetta deep inside him. A man initiated to kill.
Annabella Cordova came to Spain after her mother was killed and her father disappeared. A childhood accident has caused her deafness, but in her silence she has developed the ability to tell when someone is lying by reading facial and body expressions.
When her best friend goes missing, she finds herself amidst a plot that plans to fulfil what failed years ago.
Through the hypothesis of Patricia Cornwall a man’s life is unmasked that may finally answer – Who was Jack the Ripper? Through centuries a Prince, a doctor, a butcher have been in the spotlight, but now another man, an artist, Walter Sickert may take centre stage.
Throughout the novel a psychological profile is created to examine if this artist really could have been Jack the Ripper. Did he hide his crimes in his art? Grown up spoiled, maimed by a condition, blaming women for his deep seated anger.
His obsession involving himself in crimes that those that initiated him could not have foreseen.
What drove him to it? And is it possible that the Freemasons were behind Jack the Ripper killings all along? Was the Prince, doctor, butcher and police commissioner all part of what became one of the most infamous unsolved murders?
Meanwhile, Detective Andŕes Valero as returned from mandatory leave after killing a man that tried to rape and kill his fiancé. The request for his return outlines his own fate. His investigation leading him to men that prey on vulnerable woman, Seville University that holds century-old secrets, and to a society that far outreaches any other.
The detective’s investigation leads them to Seville University, and Mr Murillo, the headmaster of the University. The nervous man belies the fact he is hiding something, his walls adorned with paintings of reputable character. One in particular, ‘Ennui’, by Walter Sickert, plagues the mind of Valero.
There is another that cannot be forgotten. A student that frightens not only the female students, but the teachers. A man called Demetrio, that is obsessed with Celestina, and carries his own dark secrets that are used by another to unveil his plans.
As the weeks go on, the taunts begin. Every six days a female student disappears, followed by a delivery of a package that mimics the taunts of Jack the Ripper.
As Annabella and the detectives come closer to the truth, Annabella’s life is in this man’s sights; leading Annabella’s past to resurface.
