String of Death

By Dazza Smith

Detective Marcus DeMarco has spent a decade trying to forget the name that nearly ended his life: The Shadow Butcher-a methodical, sadistic killer whose final attack left Marcus scarred in ways even time couldn't heal. The Butcher vanished without a trace, and Marcus built a new life on the fragile hope that the nightmare was over.

He was wrong. When a new body appears in London-posed with a marionette missing its strings-Marcus recognizes the signature instantly. The Butcher hasn't just returned. He's been waiting. Watching. Planning. Each murder comes with a message crafted just for Marcus: taunts carved into walls, puppet limbs dropped on his doorstep, riddles tied to childhood memories he's spent years trying to bury. With every victim, the killer tightens the psychological vise, forcing Marcus back into the one case he never solved-and the one monster who never stopped hunting him.

Then the Butcher makes his move. He takes Marcus's brother. Suddenly, the investigation transforms from a manhunt into a personal war. Racing through storm-soaked streets, abandoned churches, underground tunnels, and a cabin tied to the darkest corners of his past, Marcus realizes the horrifying truth: the Butcher has been studying him for years. Every clue, every crime scene, every marionette is part of a design meant to pull Marcus into a final performance.

This isn't about killing.
It's about Marcus.
His failures. His guilt. His secrets. His family.

To save the people he loves, Marcus must confront the monster who shaped his life-and the part of himself he's tried hardest to ignore. But the Butcher has engineered every step of this nightmare, and he knows Marcus better than anyone alive. To stop him, Marcus must follow the strings. But at the end of them waits a truth he may not survive.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GPWXYP6W
• ISBN13: 9798249575755
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"