The Inquisitor - Hardcover

'This is a stunning debut from an American screen-writer that is original, horrifying and yet utterly compelling... Multi-layered, with a delicate plot that asks readers to question their own morals when it comes to torture... it paints a subtle, horrifying portrait of how easy it is to justify torture. Not for the faint-hearted, but as compelling, dramatic and moving as a Goya painting when it comes to the depiction of pain' --Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail

'The danger with a strong protagonist is that he overpowers the plot. Smith understands this, giving him enough human qualities to offset his blank ruthlessness and give us occasional insights into Geiger's damaged brain via the flashbacks that accompany his migraines. The result is one of the most original debut thrillers since SJ Watson's Before I Go To Sleep' --Guardian

Geiger's business is extracting information. A meticulous torturer, his methods range from the brutal to the psychologically complex, and he will stop at nothing to get the job done. His clients are referred to him from international corporations, government agencies and organised crime; his skills are in worldwide demand. He calls his company Information Retrieval. Geiger only has one rule: that he will never work on a child. So when a client presents Geiger with a twelve-year-old boy, his instinct is to walk away. But the alternative - the unknown horror that might await the boy elsewhere - is too awful for him to contemplate. Geiger's history is a blank page - even to him. In accepting this assignment in an attempt to save the boy, he will discover that history, no matter how torturous that proves to be...