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The Soul Collector

(2023)
A novel by Emma Salisbury

Is It possible to change fate once the cards have been dealt?

1970

Thirteen-year-old Jack discovers his twin sister Stacey’s body in a disused barn near to the family home. Holding her close, her breath is warm on his cheek as he hears her whisper: ‘I knew you would come.’ Later, doctors try to explain he is mistaken, he couldn’t have heard her, by the time she was found she’d been dead for some time.

Eighteen years later

Set in Salford, an industrial city in Greater Manchester during Thatcher’s third term, the inhabitants of a notorious estate come under the spotlight following the murder of local schoolgirl, Kelly Brodie. DCI Jack Curran, recently transferred from Gorton, has his work cut out for him – a boss who thinks he can’t do the job, colleagues who don’t respect him and a past he’s tried hard to escape. He joined the force with one goal in mind: To track down his sister’s killer legitimately. Not for him the natural justice exerted by his estranged father, the head of the city’s most infamous crime syndicate, nor the cops in his department for that matter. He’s a rulebook detective, and proud of it.

Shortly after Kelly’s body is found he is tortured by visions of her. Convinced he is losing his mind, he consults a local priest and makes a startling discovery - he is a soul collector, a person so sensitive to the tormented spirits of murder victims they remain with him until their death has been avenged.

As the police battle to track down Kelly’s killer, they unearth a world of cash-in-hand, no-questions-asked transactions run by a local crime boss too close for Curran’s comfort.

Tormented by guilt and images of Kelly’s damaged body – and flashbacks of his sister’s brutal killing – Curran is aware of shocking similarities between the two cases. Could it be possible that the murders are connected? When the image of a faceless young girl appears before him, he realises the killer is about to claim another victim. This time he has been given a warning – will he be able to find the girl in time?

As Curran pieces together the fractured jigsaw of his life he learns that the rulebook only works if everyone is playing the same game. If he is ever to lay the ghosts of his past – and present – to rest, then some rules will have to be broken.