In Carystown, Kentucky, Sheriff Bill Delaney's daily routine is abruptly altered when Kate Russell enters his office. Kate informs him where the body of nine-year-old Isabella Moon lies. Isabella disappeared two years ago and it remains an open wound for this small community. When the body is unearthed, shock waves flow through the town, as inhabitants look upon one another with suspicion.
As the investigation begins, a seemingly senseless murder occurs, and the town's secrets are in danger of being exposed, especially Kate's. Sheriff Delaney must probe into her carefully reconstructed life. He soon finds that all clues to the killings eventually lead back to Kate. She's the thread that connects the past with the present. Then the past collides with the present, sending shock waves throughout the community as the town's ugly secrets are exposed in a surprisingly haunted ending.
Ms. Benedict's debut is a darkly edgy thriller depicting small-town life. She creatively weaves supernatural elements as Isabella's spirit drives the finely drawn characters to a startling conclusion. The effective combination of supernatural and thriller increases the suspense as layer upon layer peels away revealing the rotten core within the heart of the community.
Sometimes the past comes looking for you. . . .
Two years ago, in idyllic Carystown, Kentucky, nine-year-
old Isabella Moon disappeared on her way home from school.
Is it just coincidence that Kate Russell, a young woman
with no discernible past, arrived in town just months
before Isabellaβs disappearance? When Kate walks into
Sheriff Bill Delaneyβs office to tell him that Isabellaβs
ghost has led her to the childβs hidden grave, he
immediately views her as a suspect. Mystery follows mystery
as a local athlete drops dead, inexplicably, on the
basketball court, and someone close to Kate is viciously
murdered.
Quiet Carystown was to be Kateβs salvation, and sheβs
settled into a comfortable job, a charming cottage, and a
blissful romance. But having lied to her boyfriend, Caleb,
for so long about the terrors of her past life, she finds
she canβt trust him to understand the terror that Isabella
Moon has now brought. And Kateβs best friend, Francie, is
too wrapped up in her own troubles β particularly a secret
affair with a man she at once loves and despises β to give
Kate the help she needs. Utterly alone, Kate is torn
between finding justice for the dead child and keeping away
old ghosts of her own.
The unsolved disappearance of Isabella Moon has been the
biggest disappointment of Sheriff Delaneyβs career. But he
senses that Kate is trouble. As he investigates her
impossible claims, he also uncovers a series of unsettling
truths about Carystown itself. Behind his hometownβs
genteel façade is a morass of lies and murder, drugs and
destruction. And Carystownβs residents are about to
discover that even though the past is buried, it can rise
again β with a vengeance.
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