Undignified Death - Tapa dura

When Veronica Newman and her mother are both found dead by their housekeeper in London's Terrace Vale district, Detective Inspector Harry Timberlake is brought in to investigate. Timberlake senses deep trouble. Why does the mother appear to have died from natural causes when Veronica has been brutally murdered? And where is Charles Henry Newman, Veronica's estranged husband?
Inquiries soon reveal that Newman has a criminal record for violent behavior. Timberlake tracks him down to the seedy underworld of Marseilles, and after their meeting his suspicions intensify. But it appears Newman can't be guilty - he has a watertight alibi.
Timberlake is taken off the case to concentrate on a local corruption investigation. Then a fifty-five-year-old woman is found stabbed to death. Soon afterward, a sixty-year-old woman is murdered - and the forensic team confirms that the same person is responsible. Is there a serial killer on the loose?
Despite all evidence to the contrary, Timberlake's conviction of Newman's guilt remains undented. Could this be Timberlake's first big mistake...? But with his personal life in a crisis and a murder squad stretched to the breaking point - and beyond - Timberlake cannot afford to make any mistakes....