Dutton
February 2019
On Sale: February 12, 2019
432 pages ISBN: 1101985631 EAN: 9781101985632 Kindle: B073YT7KCX Trade Size / e-Book (reprint) Add to Wish List
Brad Parks delivers a riveting, emotionally powerful stand-alone domestic suspense thriller perfect for fans of The Couple Next Door and What She Knew.
Disaster is always closer than you know.
It was a lesson Melanie Barrick learned the hard way growing up in the constant upheaval of foster care. But now that sheβs survived into adulthoodβwith a loving husband, a steady job, and a beautiful baby boy named Alexβshe thought that turmoil was behind her.
Until one Tuesday evening when she goes to pick up Alex from childcare only to discover heβs been removed by Social Services. And no one will say why. Itβs a terrifying scenario for any parent, but doubly so for Melanie, who knows the unintended horrors of what everyone coldly calls βthe system.β Her nightmare grows worse when she arrives home to learn her house has been raided by sheriffβs deputies, who have found enough cocaine to send Melanie to prison for years. The evidence against her is overwhelming, and if Melanie canβt prove her innocence, sheβll lose Alex forever.
Meanwhile, assistant commonwealthβs attorney Amy Kayeβwho has been assigned Melanieβs caseβhas her own troubles. Sheβs been dogged by a cold case no one wants her to pursue: a serial rapist who has avoided detection by wearing a mask and whispering his commands. Over the years, he has victimized dozens of women.
Including Melanie. Yet now her attacker might be the key to her salvation... or her undoing.
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