Alex Cross has never believed in vampires. But when two joggers are found slain in a manner that suggest a macabre ritual, he has to reconsider. someone believes in vampires enough to have committed a series of bizarre murders that appear to be the work of one. Local police are horrified, and even the FBI is baffled.

"Sarah Woodruff, on death row in Oregon for murdering her lover, John Finley, has appealed her case to the Supreme Court just when a prominent justice resigns, leaving a vacancy. Then, for no apparent reason, another justice is mysteriously attacked. Dana Cutler-one of the heroes from Margolin's bestselling Executive Privilege-is quietly called in to investigate. She looks for links between the Woodruff appeal and the ominous incidents in the justices'...

Spero Lucas has a new line of work. Since he returned home after serving in Iraq, he has been doing special investigations for a defense attorney.

Feisty criminal attorney Jessica Ford has done her best to comply with the orders of the Secret Services unofficial witness protection program ever since she became the lone witness to the First Ladys murder. She changed her name, dyed her dark hair blonde, and traded her sturdy black-rimmed glasses for contact lenses. Unfortunately, winning her first high-profile case for prestigious Washington, D.C., law firm Ellis Hayes, and subsequently landing...