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.