Eleven: A Detective Frank Deford Novel (The Victor Rutsman Saga) (Volume 1)

Welcome to the odd, orderly world of Victor Rutsman. Obsessed with tactile sensation, numeric perfection and Mary Poppins, every facet of Victor’s bizarre existence is built around the need to collect specimens to feed his compulsion for textures. Soon, dead bodies with cryptic surgical inscriptions begin to surface, and Kansas City finds itself in the grip of a terrifying madman. Once again, Detective Frank Deford is called upon to apprehend the deranged killer. Deford’s recent use of deadly force during a murderous family dispute has drawn the scrutiny of Internal Affairs. The IA investigation will soon reveal an eerily similar event in Deford’s own childhood and a deep wound from the past emerges, laid bare before the entire community. Deford’s mental armor holds fast… barely. Victor proves mystically elusive, and authorities have yet to recognize his real aim of adding a special prize to his collection. When the timing is right, Victor sends Deford a clue, and orchestrates a deadly confrontation with the troubled Detective. Knowing he is walking into a trap Deford risks everything and confronts the murderer alone. With stakes unimaginably high, Deford’s ability to protect those closest to him is tested once again.