The Final Analysis

The convicted serial killer, Melchior Pendred, spent the final years of his life dying in prison for five identical murders.

He slit the victims’ throats, eviscerated the bodies and scattered the organs at the scene of the crime.

But that was buried in local history until a sixth murder is committed.

The body of Jenny Muir is discovered in the same fashion but with the supposed killer now dead, panic sets in…
Martin Pendred, Melkior’s twin, identical in appearance, personality and work life, is propelled into the spotlight.

Like his brother he worked first in an abattoir, then as a mortuary assistant and was only discounted of the original murders by an alibi.

Did the police convict the wrong brother? Pressure rises in the force as Chief Inspector Homer returns to his original hypothesis that his colleague, Beverley Wharton, caught the wrong man.

Martin Pendred is arrested but released on a technicality after the intervention of his solicitor, Helena Flemming.

Then Martin disappears and another murder takes place.

What’s left to do but to call in John Eisenmenger?

A former pathologist, Eisenmenger worked on the original murders and his finely honed skills could make all the difference to this nerve-wracking case.

Indeed he soon begins to guess what is going on, but it is not until danger threatens Helena Flemming that he is able to find and fit the last terrible piece of the killer’s puzzle.

Praise For Keith McCarthy

“Chilling and challenging, though the pat conspiracy behind Proteus keeps this sequel from rising to the demanding level of Helena and Eisenmenger’s grimly brilliant debut.” – Kirkus Reviews

“I have one word for Keith McCarthy’s John Eisenmenger series and that word is ‘INTENSE’. Everything, from the murders, the characters, the scenery, and the sex are all incredibly, dark, graphic and intense. However, if you can get past the extremity of the series, the stories are very compelling and incredibly intriguing. The characters are complex and McCarthy does a fantastic job of character development throughout the series.” – A Thrill A Week

‘Readers who don’t get enough strong forensic medicine from the likes of Patricia Cornwell or Kathy Reichs … will welcome this first book in a new series from a British pathologist … McCarthy lays on the grisly detail with a practising doctor’s detached eye.’ Publishers Weekly

‘Richly gothic … uses the classic whodunit format of a closed circle of suspects to good effect. There’s a giddy feeling to the story when we lurch from moments of black farce to savage coincidence … a potent mix.’ Tangled Web

‘Pathologist McCarthy creates a dark, densely imagined world in the demanding tradition of P. D. James … he peoples it with characters who truly inspire pity and terror, and provides the most unsparing postmortem ever.’ Kirkus Reviews

‘A whodunit in the classical mould mixes the story of a man coping with the scars of his past and the wounds of the present … McCarthy handles his material with real brio.’ Crime Time

Keith McCarthy is a pathologist and writer of crime fiction, known for his Eisenmenger-Flemming Forensic Mysteries. He also writes under the name Lance Elliot.

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.