March, 1957. A lone policeman trudges through smog-filled streets of London to a scene of a savage domestic homicide. Trying to wrap his head around a series of attacks in which men senselessly brutalize the women they live with, Detective Inspector Shepard finds himself following a trail of mysterious disappearances, inexplicable suicides, and attacks of panic and hysteria in an effort to find a common denominator among them.
Enlisting the help of a life scientist and a journalist, Shepard reluctantly dogs the bloody trail of the mysterious syndrome right down to a fatal standoff with a hostage taker, in the process coming eye to eye with the most haunting mystery in the history of the Western civilization.
"Peter Swirski’s writing is intelligent, darkly funny, and crisp. The result is Behold a Virgin: an impeccably plotted, scientifically grounded, genre-defying mystery."
- Nelson DeMille, #1 New York Times bestseller
"In this gritty, high-concept mystery debut set against the post-WW2 soot-stained backstreets of London, Swirski fuses noir crime with science and theology...sparkles with a lively, hard-edged intelligence...its prose--dryly witty and steeped in period texture--keeps the pages turning."
- Booklife/Publishers Weekly
"Swirski delivers a swift and succinct tale of science-defying murder and mystery…The author shines at writing quick-witted dialogue that simmers with style and speed… A genre-defying thriller full of personality… A delightfully witty and weird crime yarn full of unexpected surprises."
- Kirkus Reviews
