Carson Ryder/Harry Nautilus (abridged)

A headless male torso found in the sweating heat of an Alabama night is assumed to be that of a murdered prostitute, killed in a moment of passion. The head of Mobile's police department would have it so, but Detective Carson Ryder sees something else: the deliberate placement of the remains, the lack of blood, the bizarre writing on the victim's skin.

Thirty years after his death, Marsden Hexcamp's "Art of the Final Moment" remains as sought after as ever. But this is no ordinary collection. Hexcamp's portfolio was completed with the aid of a devoted band of acolytes and half a dozen victims, each of whom was slowly tortured to death so that their final agonies could be distilled into art.

It looked like an abattoir when they found the mutilated body of the young journalist inside her car. And if Carson Ryder and his partner had known what they were getting into, they would never have taken the case. Too late, what looks like the work of a lone madman spreads tentacles that wrap themselves round all sorts of strange areas. And it's not long before attention focuses on the city's most unlikely suspects: a wealthy family whose philanthropy has made them famous and influential.