Anna Pigeon is visiting a friend in New Orleans, healing before returning to work after administrative leave. But of course, she can't avoid trouble, which starts with a dead pigeon marked with runic symbols and an unsettling tenant who lives in her friend's apartment building.

Try as she does to walk away, Anna finds herself drawn into a woman's desperate attempt to prove that her two young daughters were kidnapped. The woman, Clare, is wanted for questioning in the murder of her children and husband.

Anna can't pin down why she's drawn to Clare's story and why she believes her, but she does. Helping Clare to find the girls means delving into a part of the world -- of humanity -- Anna wishes she never had to confront.

Beware: This is a dark, dark book. Not just the usual bloody bodies and mayhem that surround Anna Pigeon, but a look at the world that might give you trouble sleeping. I love the Pigeon books, but I gotta say, this one was disturbing on a level that pulled me out of the story and made it hard to focus on the book. Still, all you diehard series readers won't want to miss Anna's latest adventure.