Nemesis (The Badge and the Pen)

The body count is rising…

When psychopath Daniel Moxley makes his escape while being escorted to Broadmoor high security prison, he sets off on a trail of bloody revenge, leaving police forces throughout the north of England floundering in his wake.

Moxley’s paranoia has him seemingly selecting victims at random.

The only thing they have in common is the gruesome nature of their killings.

Police, prison warders and even old ladies have been the target of Moxley’s cold-blooded murder spree.

When Detective Inspector Vinnie Palmer is assigned to the case, Moxley decides that he too must die, but not before he has led him from one blood-soaked scene to another.

Among his victims is Vinnie’s offsider, Detective Constable Rob Hill, who he discovers has his own dark and destructive secret that rips Vinnie’s life apart.

With the help of Moxley’s psychiatrist, Vinnie delves deep into the man’s criminal past and uncovers a history of corrupt police, sexual coercion and gaol brutality.

But when Vinnie closes in on Moxley and takes the law into his own hands, he ends up suspended and stripped of his police powers.

Determined not to let Moxley escape justice, Vinnie continues his pursuit of the maniac as a private citizen.

He teams up with determined television reporter Christine Jones and together they pursue Moxley north to Scotland and back again.

But the killer always seems to be one step ahead, leaving a trail mutilated bodies in his wake.

Lured on by Moxley’s taunts, Vinnie discovers that it is his own wife – a fellow police worker – who has been an unwitting aid in Moxley’s deadly deeds.

As a result, his suspension is lifted in time for him and Christine to gain full police support and finally confront Moxley in a terrifying final encounter.

But is it too late?

The action-packed and full of gruesome detail, Nemesis is Roger’s first story in the new Badge and the Pen series that features detective inspector Vinnie Palmer.

Roger A Price is a crime fighter turned crime writer who spent more than thirty-one years in the police force. He served across the UK, Europe and the Far East before retiring as a detective inspector in charge of a covert undercover drugs unit that achieved national acclaim.