First published 2012
Dr. Charlotte Stone built her career studying criminal minds, but she hides a dark secret. At sixteen, she survived when the Boardwalk Killer murdered her best friend Holly and her family. Charlie gave police crucial information that drove the killer underground. She never told them about the ghostly visions that followed. Fifteen years later, FBI agent Tony Bartoli arrives with devastating news. A family lies slaughtered and their teenage daughter has vanished. The crime matches the Boardwalk Killer's pattern exactly. Bartoli needs Charlie's expertise to save the missing girl before time runs out. Charlie knows she should refuse this case. Getting involved means confronting the trauma that shaped her life. But she may be the only person who can stop this monster. As she hunts the killer, Charlie must navigate her growing attraction to Bartoli while managing visits from Michael Garland, a seductive ghost with his own agenda. The investigation becomes a deadly game where Charlie's psychic abilities and painful past collide, leading to a final confrontation with the killer who destroyed her childhood.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Boardwalk
Period: 15 Years Later
336 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: child-death, murder, violence