The Most Unkindest Cut

Maya Curtis, a Philippino with a long history of sexual abuse, kisses her new husband, Mike, as she leaves for work in the oncology wing of St Margaret's, blissfully unaware that she is destined to be the first mutilated member of the cast in a series of theatrically staged murders, at first seen to be a natural death. That opinion is changed when the pathologist sees that Maya's clitoris has been surgically removed just after death. DI John Hunter sees the case as a no-hoper. There is no scene of crime evidence, no obvious motive, and hundreds of possible killers. He and Jane go through the motions, interviewing staff, but the investigation is going nowhere. Five weeks after the first murder another Philippino nurse is killed in exactly the same way and in the same place. Motives abound - racial, sexual, revenge - and the problems remain the same. Sheron Kramer, the department sister, realises she may have seen the killer and leaves a message for Hunter, but he arrives too late to save her. Another nurse and then doctors die, with body parts removed, and still the murderer roams free. When Hunter does finally get on the trail, Jane becomes the next intended victim, and the detective flips his lid.