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The Burning Woman

On sale

22nd May 2025

Price: £21.99

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Selected: ebook / ISBN-13: 9781399707336

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A local woman is found in a children’s playground, tied up and burned to death. Her clothes are neatly folded and laid at the base of a nearby tree. Her body, charred and still smoking, is on display for all to see.

One town over, another victim is discovered in the scorched remains of a brutal fire, her clothes having been laid out just beyond the reach of the vicious flames.

Isabel Reis is called back to her post in the PolÍcia Judiciária hunt the serial killer and extinguish the red-hot city of Lisbon, or will she too get caught up in the smoke of the fire burning so close to home . . .

The blood-tingling final instalment in the critically acclaimed Inspector Reis series propels us back to Portugal, right into the path of a serial killer.

Reviews

Praise for the Inspector Reis series
Val McDermid
Breathtakingly original, and a captivating sense of place
Claire McGowan, bestselling author of The Push
A brilliantly inventive and twisty tale
Mari Hannah, multi-award winning author of Without a Trace
A distinctive, intriguing, immersive debut
Helen Fields, bestselling author of The Shadow Man
Marques sets Lisbon alight with this beautifully drawn thriller. Gifted detective Isabel Reis is everything we want from our protagonists - original and compelling, unique and fascinating. A story that'll leave you red-eyed and sleep deprived, The Colours of Death is a bold, compelling police drama a step beyond the ordinary with writing to match
Nadine Matheson, author of The Jigsaw Man
This is crime fiction with a twist. Detective Inspector Reis is in pursuit of a killer. Nothing new there, but the murders take place in an alternative Lisbon, Portugal where the population is split into gifted or non-gifted and Inspector Reis is registered as gifted due to her being a telepath. This was a gripping and highly invented thrill ride. I can't wait for more
David Jackson, bestselling author of The Resident
An amazing genre-bending debut
Debbie Howells, bestselling author of The Bones of You
A brilliant read. The premise and characters are intriguing, the story completely compelling - I couldn't put it down - and I loved the beautifully depicted setting of Lisbon
Philippa East, author of Safe and Sound
Patricia Marques debut takes the classic crime novel and the evocative setting of Lisbon, and utterly transforms both with a fascinating speculative twist. Pacy, immersive and brain-shiveringly clever. A brilliantly original crime story
Daily Mail
Compelling and original, this glints with freshness
Guardian
A good detective story . . . intriguing
SFX Magazine
Crime fiction with a twist -
Steven Powell, author of Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy
A brilliant read and a stunning addition to the Isabel Reis series . . . Patricia Marques is an author with a gift
Nadine Matheson, author of The Kill List
An original clever, inventive and suspenseful thriller. I loved being back in Inspector Reis's world
Philippa East, author of Little White Lies
Broken Oaths is a mesmerising and propulsive speculative crime thriller, which had me gripped from the start and all the way to its heart-pounding conclusion. Assured writing, engaging characters and a brilliant speculative concept, the Inspector Isabel Reis series continues to be a fantastic contribution to the contemporary crime genre
Daily Mail
Beautifully told, with great verve, this is sharp, taut story-telling
Fiona Erskine
I love this series - the finest of speculative crime. Marques has really hit her stride with this one - the third in the series and the best yet!