Lorna Temple never forgot that horrible night when her best
friend, Melinda Eagan, disappeared. Suspicion fell upon
Melinda's brother, Jason, until he went missing. Now, more
than 20 years later, Lorna is coming home to Callen,
Pennsylvania, to spread her mother's ashes and sell the
family home. Shortly after her arrival, the mystery of what
happened to Jason is solved when his bones are discovered.
Billie Eagan, Jason's mother, is arrested for his murder.
Lorna believes in Billie's innocence and hires private
investigator T.J. Dawson to prove not only that she didn't
kill her son, but also to find out what happened to
Melinda. When more bodies are discovered, Billie is off the
hook for the moment and the FBI steps in. It looks like the
work of a serial killer, an idea that sends shock waves
through the sleepy rural community.
Lorna and T.J. begin questioning those involved with the
search for Melinda and any person who last saw Jason on the
night he disappeared. Recollections of both of the events
differ greatly, which means someone is lying -- but who?
Finally, hard evidence is found and an arrest is made. But
is the crime really solved?
HARD TRUTH is the second installment in Stewart's Truth
series. It's a heart-pounding thriller that will send
chills down your spine. The plot twists keep you guessing
about who the killer is and what really happened to
Melinda. I'm looking forward to reading the next books,
DARK TRUTH and FINAL TRUTH, with great anticipation.
Two children who mysteriously disappeared twenty-one years
ago are the last thing on Lorna Temple's mind when she
returns to her Pennsylvania hometown to sell the old family
property in the wake of her parents' passing. But instead of
memories, the fields where Lorna grew up yield something
utterly chilling.
All those years ago, when nine-year-old Melinda Eagan
vanished on her birthday, her foulmouthed older brother,
Jason, quickly became the lone suspect. Yet when he went
missing, too, the case turned cold. But Jason, it seeems,
never got far: His bones have been moldering on the Temples'
land for two decades. As far as the local police are
concerned, the book is closed on Melinda's murder--and
Jason's death is justice served. But Lorna refuses to let
the dead rest uneasily. She turns to private eye T.J. Dawson
to dig up the dirt of the past and see what lies beneath.
Only there's someone out there who hasn't forgotten--and who
won't be the least bit forgiving about being exposed as a
killer.