'One of the boldest thriller writers working today' TESS GERRITSEN'Her characters, plot, and pacing are unrivalled' MICHAEL CONNELLY__________________________________A darkly comic tale about Mr Less-Than-Average in an average world from the No. 1 Bestseller.

Crime fiction obsessive Martin Reed is the proverbial butt of everyone's jokes. Working as a glorified accountant at Southern Toilet Supply and still living with his cantankerous mother, he has become resigned to the world in which he lives - the school bullies now pick on him in the workplace, women still spurn him and his arch enemy is now his supervisor.

But then he arrives at work one morning to find the police on site. A co-worker has been brutally murdered and her body abandoned in a ditch. And the overwhelming evidence points to Martin - especially when he can't or won't admit that he has an alibi.

When a second victim is found in the company bathroom, things really conspire against Martin. The one bright star on his otherwise bleak horizon is the beautiful and sympathetic Detective Anther Albada, but even she's beginning to have her doubts about his innocence. Could Martin be guilty? Or is he just misunderstood?_________________________________________Crime and thriller masters know there's nothing better than a little Slaughter:

'I'd follow her anywhere' GILLIAN FLYNN'Passion, intensity, and humanity' LEE CHILD 'A writer of extraordinary talents' KATHY REICHS 'Fiction doesn't get any better than this' JEFFERY DEAVER 'A great writer at the peak of her powers' PETER JAMES 'Raw, powerful and utterly gripping' KATHRYN STOCKETT 'With heart and skill Karin Slaughter keeps you hooked from the first page until the last' CAMILLA LACKBERG 'Amongst the world's greatest and finest crime writers' YRSA SIGURÐARDÓTTIR