On the surface, Washington D.C. seems one of the most progressive cities in the world; but underneath, a serial killer is preying upon the city’s women. To unearth him, Detectives Miller and Roth must plunge into the city’s dark side, and search for a connection between the victims. All share one common trait: their birth details are fabricated. Could they have been on witness protection programmes? Or what of the former CIA agent who has a connection to one of the women? His name is John Robey, a seemingly innocuous college professor with claims to gladden a conspiracy theorist’s heart: that the cocaine problem in the US has been largely created by the CIA, to fund its operations in South America. The most recent victim has a past history with Robey and the CIA; are the others connected to him too? And could he be disposing of them as part of a long-standing vendetta against the CIA?

A whopping 600 pages, A Simple Act of Violence unfortunately takes 400 pages to get really riveting, but the last third turns out so good, it makes it worth the wait.