Male, Unknown

EDIE CARTER. FORGIVE ME.

The four words carved into the body of an unidentified patient which bring the repressed childhood trauma of young trainee anaesthetist Edie Carter flooding back.

But what terrible secret does the sedated man fighting for his life in her intensive care unit hold?

And when she finds out, will she still want to save him?

Young doctor Edie Carter is bright, talented and ambitious. She is embarking on her dream career in anaesthetics and is engaged to a man who adores her. The one thing she doesn't have is a childhood. Suffering from traumatic repression, large parts of her past are blank spaces.

When an unidentified patient arrives in her intensive care unit with her name carved on his body, she realises that memories can refuse to stay buried. The man is unknown to Edie, but digging deeper, she discovers that the patient is Samuel Cox, a man imprisoned and brutalised over the last two decades for horrifying crimes he had committed.

As she investigates further, and begins to reveal Cox's motives, Edie realises that even those she trusts have been complicit in deceiving her.

With the lives of those closest to her at risk, is Edie ready for the truth of what happened all those years ago?

And will she do whatever it takes to keep it hidden?

Shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Award.