Detective Ruben Ellis wants to die. The only reason he hasn’t killed himself is because he first needs to hunt down the man who kidnapped and murdered his daughter.

Meanwhile, another victim is being held captive in a twisted underground dystopia. But does Ruben have enough will left to find her in time? Can his partner, Zander, and his brilliant therapist, Melissa, help him unravel a mystery as dark and unseen as the gold mines that run deep beneath the streets of Johannesburg? And will they discover the mind-bending truth about Thing – the deeply troubled figure in the basement?

Now You Suffer is a chilling and wholly unforgettable thriller – the first in bestselling author Gareth Crocker’s riveting new Ruben Ellis series.

Some secrets can’t be burnt away. Cops are being murdered all over the city, each falling victim to a designer poison that causes them to bleed out. Unable to make a breakthrough in the case and with the bodies piling up, detectives Ruben and Zander recruit counsellor Melissa to help them. Hoping that her unique insights into the human psyche might help trigger a discovery, they’re expecting to hunt down some kind of deranged lunatic. The real murderer, however, is a devilishly intelligent professor of human physiology, an academic icon standing on the brink of a groundbreaking discovery. Why is he killing them? How many more will fall victim to his brilliance? And who’s next?

Elijah Rolene is a lost man. Following the death of his wife, he quits his job as a police pilot and turns to prescription painkillers for comfort.

Not content to watch him destroy his life, his veterinarian sister convinces him to help out at her animal shelter. Soon, they rescue a rare white lion cub from the heart of Detroit's gangland. The lion is brought to live with them and instantly connects with Elijah's autistic niece, Harper. As Harper is brought out of her shell, so Elijah begins to heal as well.

But something happens that puts their family at risk and threatens to tear their world apart. Elijah is faced with a question that will define the rest of his life: How far will you go if you have nothing left to lose?