Twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz is lucky to be alive.
Not many people her age have nearly died twice at the hands
of a serial killer, and lived to tell about it.
Her dad, New Orleans detective, Rick Bentz, wants Kristi to
stay in New Orleans and out of danger. But if anything,
Kristiβs experiences have made her even more fascinated by
the mind of the serial killer. She hasnβt given up her
dream of being a true-crime writerβof exploring the darkest
recesses of evilβand now she just may bet her chance.
Three girls have disappeared at All Saints College in less
than two years. All three were βlost soulsββtroubled,
vulnerable girls with no one to care about them, no one to
come looking if they disappeared. The police think theyβre
runaways, but Kristi senses thereβs something that links
them, something terrifying.
She decides to enroll, following their same steps. All
Saints has changed a lot since Kristi was an undergraduate.
The stodgy Catholic university has lured edgy new professor
to its campus and gained a reputation for envelope-pushing,
with classes like the very popular βThe Influence of
Vampirism in English Literatureβ and elaborately staged
morality plays that feel more like the titillating
entertainment of some underground club than religious
spectacles. And there are whispers of a dark cult on campus
whose members wear vials of blood around their necks and
meet in secret chambersβrituals to which only the elite
have access.
To find the truth, Kristi will need to become part of the
cultβs inner circle, to learn their secrets, and play the
part of the lost soul without losing herself in the
process. Itβs a dangerous path, and Kristi is skating on
itβs knife-thin edge. The deeper she goes, the more Kristi
begins to wonder if she is the hunter or the prey. Sheβs
certain sheβs being watched and followedβstudied, evenβas
yet another girl disappears, and another. And when the
bodies finally begin to surfaceβin ways that bring fear to
the campus and terror to the hearts of even hardened cops
like Detective Bentz and his partner Reuben MontoyaβKristi
realizes with chilling clarity that she has underestimated
her foe. She is playing a game with a killer more cunning
and blood-thirsty than anyone can imagine, one who has
personally selected her for membership in a cult of death
from which there will be no escape.
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