Savour: The Obsessions of a Murderer

This is the second book in a trilogy about a suspected serial killer, the follow-up to Bateman's debut novel Nondescript Rambunctious, which won the national First Book Competition in Canada, sponsored by Simon Fraser University. The title is a creepy reference to the enjoyment felt by the sociopathic characters. Lizzie, a streetwise 16-year old, has escaped a life of crime and drugs in Scotland and is trying to eke out a normal existence in London, working at a fruit stall in a market. Always looking over her shoulder, she is afraid of people from her past in Edinburgh finding her, but she is unaware of the darker dangers that lurk around her. She comes to the attention of the mousy, middle-aged Helen who has lost her murderous outlet when the Audacious, a club for the depraved, closes. But her predator is in turn being watched. The mysterious Oliver sometimes steps out of the shadows to protect Lizzie but perhaps only to preserve her for his own purposes. Bateman has drawn original, compelling characters whose dialogue draws readers into lower-class London and created a gripping tale of the seamy side of life without moral boundaries. Agent: Joanna Swainson. (Oct.)