Every crime scene has a smell. A look. A trail of DNA. It also has a feel. A lingering residue that floats unseen, like bacteria in the air, just waiting to be absorbed. To be felt. To be interpreted.
And the man and the boy are the only ones who know this.
Veteran major crimes detective Kate Messenger has a problem on her hands: six bodies - father, mother, three children, and the family dog - all slaughtered in their own home, with not a single clue or a shred of DNA that points to the butcher who killed them.
But late one night, as she's visiting what the newspapers have dubbed the House of Pain, Kate finds a couple of intruders at her crime scene: a man and a young blind boy who have no real explanation for their presence there.
In the hours that follow, Kate will discover that this is no ordinary boy - not by a long shot - and his ability to "read" the emotional residue left behind by the killer and his victims will not only open some old and very tender wounds, but may also help her find a killer who has been watching her every move.
