In this prequel to The Bookseller, Hugo must find a reviled movie star lost in the English countryside, before a killer with a penchant for the noose finds him first.

Hugo Marston has just joined the State Department as head of security at the US Embassy in London. His task is to protect a pair of spoiled movie stars, Dayton Harper and his wife Ginny Ferro, whose reckless driving killed a prominent landowner in rural England.

The job turns from routine to disastrous almost immediately. Before Hugo has a chance to meet them, he finds out that Ferro has disappeared, and soon her body is found hanging from an oak tree in a London cemetery. Hours later a distraught Harper slips away from his protector, and Hugo has no idea where he's going.

Teaming up with a secretive young lady named Merlyn, Hugo's search leads to a quaint English village. There, instead of finding Harper, another body turns up in the church graveyard.

But now the killer knows he's being tailed. At one of England's most famous tourist spots, the self-appointed executioner prepares for the final act of his murderous spree. And Hugo arrives just in time to play his part…

“In The Button Man, Mark Pryor is at his finest, spinning a tale of intrigue and deception so thrilling you’ll stay up all night to finish it.”

—Elizabeth L. Silver, author of The Execution of Noa P. Singleton

“The Button Man is one of those books that’s so much fun to have waiting for you on the nightstand or desk—just sitting there, smirking at you, promising an excellent time if you’d just hurry up and get done with your chores. Terrible things, clever people, and a bit of sexy thrown in for good measure, The Button Man is well-written with a snappy pace. In short, it’s everything that makes us love mysteries in the first place.”

—Jamie Mason, author of Three Graves Full

Praise for previous Hugo Marston novels:

”Once you’ve had a bit, you can’t wait for more.“

—Oprah.com

”Enough intrigue to satisfy every reader….“

—RT Book Reviews

”The Hugo Marston series now belongs on every espionage fan’s watch list."

—Booklist