First published 1995
Investigative reporter Molly Cates has just released her book about Louie Bronk, the Texas Scalper who terrorized women drivers on desert highways eleven years ago. The former barber sits on death row, scheduled for execution within days for murdering Austin socialite Tiny McFarland. Then Charlie McFarland approaches Molly with a bribe. He wants her to skip covering the execution. His desperate offer plants seeds of doubt. Did Bronk really kill Tiny McFarland? Should the state execute him for a crime he might not have committed? Molly races against the execution clock to uncover the truth behind her own bestselling investigation. New murders begin, mimicking Bronk's methods. Someone is copying the Texas Scalper's signature kills. Molly must navigate between her journalistic integrity and mounting evidence that justice might claim an innocent man.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: race-against-the-clock, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Texas, Austin
Period: 11 years ago
384 pages · Paperback · Bantam
Content warnings: murder, violence