by Jan Burke
Part of Irene Kelly
First published 2011
Irene Kelly thought she had put serial killer Nick Parrish behind her. The Las Piernas News Express reporter had recovered from her trauma with help from her husband Frank and therapy. Her newspaper still struggled financially, but life felt normal again. Then disturbing news arrives: Parrish can walk again despite injuries that should have left him paralyzed permanently. His online fan club, the Moths, spreads rumors that he plans revenge against Irene. Media attention returns as reporters hound her for interviews about questions she hoped never to face again. Irene tries to convince herself that maximum security walls keep Parrish contained and that threats from his followers remain empty words. A sinister prank shatters that illusion. When police discover a young woman's frozen corpse in a car trunk near Irene's home, the body bears an unmistakable signature: elaborate moth paintings covering the victim's skin. Someone is hunting Irene with deadly purpose. She believes she knows her twisted stalker's identity, but doubt creeps in as the danger escalates.
Genres: american-fiction, suspense, mystery, crime, adult, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, gritty, intense, psychological, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, obsessive-antagonist, past-trauma-resurfaces, unreliable-threat
Setting: Las Piernas
Period: 21st-century
368 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: death, murder, violence