Mysteries don't always come knocking at the door, sometimes
they just pick up the phone and call. When the past is the
one dialing your number, the hold button is not an option.
Massachusetts homicide counselor Talley Whyte should know,
she's tried. But someone isn't about to let her off the
hook. Her past has come calling, and it means a return to
her childhood home of Winsworth, Maine, to see what it
wants.
Fresh from being the focal point of the unwanted attentions
of a serial killer, it might seem like an ideal way to blow
off stress and renew old acquaintances. However, this past
was one that her father went running from, leaving all
kinds of unanswered questions and angry people behind. No
sooner does Talley get "home," than she's immediately
thrust deep into the sinister happenings in Winsworth:
murder, a crazy man and his dog and a rude encounter with a
teacher who once held her dear. Suddenly Talley can't face
her two best friends for fear of the same kind of
rejection. Therefore, the girl they knew as Emma stays
cloaked under a name they will not recognize, nor does
anyone save one crazy old man seem to know who she is. Even
Hank Cunningham, the local sheriff who once had a crush on
her and is now becoming very dear to her, seems oblivious
to the girl she was. Time is running out fast for the
entire town, as bodies start piling up. It's up to Talley
to figure out just who is the victim and who wants them all
dead.
Stiefel is destined to become a mainstay in the genre of
the psychological thriller. Talley is refreshingly real,
full of intense focus, tenderhearted concern and a biting
rapier wit. She's the kind of girl you want at your back if
death's wandering about in front of your doorstep. Twists
and turns abound making it a delightful whodunit,
guaranteed to keep you guessing until the very end.
It starts with a mysterious phone call, summoning homicide
counselor Tally Whyte back to the hometown she thought
she’d left far behind her. Almost as soon as she arrives,
Tally hears that a young woman she knew as a child has been
found ritualistically murdered and mutilated. The deeper
Tally probes into the bizarre murder, the more chilling it
becomes. Each glimpse into the killer’s dark mind only
unnerves Tally more. Despite frustrating secrets and
silences, Tally suspects she’s getting close to the truth,
but perhaps she’s getting too close for her own good. As
each new body is found, Tally has to wonder…will she be
next?