by John CONOLLY
First published 2011
Randall Haight carries the weight of murder. Years ago, he killed a young girl. Now he lives quietly in Pastor's Bay, Maine, trying to forget his past. Someone knows what he did. Anonymous messages arrive, each one a reminder of his crime. The harassment terrifies him. He hires private detective Charlie Parker to stop the tormentor. Then another girl vanishes from Pastor's Bay. Her disappearance awakens old fears and new suspicions. The missing girl's family guards secrets of their own. Parker digs deeper into the town's history. He uncovers a web of violence connecting police, FBI agents, and mobsters. Bodies pile up. Lies multiply. Randall claims innocence in the new case, but Parker suspects deception. The detective must separate truth from fiction in a community built on blood and buried sins.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: secrets, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Pastor's Bay, Maine
Period: Years Ago
404 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books
Content warnings: murder, violence