Plot summaryThe central character of the book is Ashley Patterson, an introverted workaholic, and her co-workers, Toni Prescott, an outgoing singer and dancer, and shy artist Alette Peters.The three women do not get along well because of their dissimilar natures. Toni and Alette generally maintain a friendship, with Alette a calming influence, but Toni dislikes Ashley and criticizes her harshly. All three women have issues with their mothers having told them they'd never amount to anything.Ashley fears that somebody is following her. She's found her house lights turned on when she comes home from work, her personal effects in disarray, and someone has written "You will die" on her mirror with a lipstick. She thinks someone's broken into her house. She requests a police escort, but the next morning, the police officer assigned to this duty is found dead in her apartment. Two other murders have already taken place, with an identical pattern.All the murdered men had been castrated a...