Twenty five years ago Carrie Nolan was the only victim to survive the killing spree of a pedophile. Her life has been frozen in time, and not even a move to a distant city and a name change has healed the wounds that left her emotionally and sexually scarred. Determined finally to reclaim her life, Carrie returns to High Ridge as multi-published crime novelist, Dana Moretti, in hope of asking the … the questions that would lay her nightmares to rest.
Sheriff Cole Landry, came to High Ridge to escape the horrors of Iraq and Afghanistan, but soon after the sexy author arrives and starts poking her nose into matters best forgotten, his town once again becomes the hunting ground of a ruthless killer. She’s sure it’s the same man, and he’s not all that convinced she’s wrong. Keeping Dana safe means keeping her close–very close–under his protection, under him.
Between her sexual need for Cole and the danger lurking behind every stranger’s face, her world is spinning out of control.
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**This book is not for the faint at heart**
Book opens 25 years ago with 7yr old Carrie Nolan and her sister being held and raped by a pedophile clown. After being raped herself she had to listen as her younger sister was raped and murdered. Due to being interrupted the killer got away but Carrie lived.
Now 25 years later she is going by a new name, Dana Moretti ,and is a very well known published crime novelist who has in her research for her books helped bring to light the identity of a of few serial killers.
After many failed attempts at relationships due to her not being able to be intimate with or to trust men she decides she is going back to her home town and write a book about the killer who haunts her nightmares. The town does not know who she is really is but does not want that ugly thing that happened all those years ago brought back up again. What Dana doesn’t realize is the killer still lives in the town and he recognizes her instantly and wants to finish what he started 25 years ago.
Sheriff Cole Landry, used to come to High Ridge when he was younger to visit with his Aunt and Uncle on their ranch. After 10 years in the service he needed to escape the horrors of Iraq and Afghanistan, and at his uncle’s urging took the open Sheriff’s position. He is not happy with the stranger that has come to his town that is stirring up things better left forgotten. Not long after she arrives there is a murder and then another. Dana tries to tell the Sheriff she thinks it’s the same person that killed all those children years ago but he doesn’t want to believe that her theory that the killer is someone that has lived in the town all these years and is someone they all know well.
Cole realizes that he very attracted to Dana but also knows two things – one she isn’t being totally honest with him as to why she is there and also that she is suffering from PTSD.
I thought the author did a great job of showing how what happened to Carrie/Dana 25 years ago still affected her life today. She didn’t just have Cole and Dana jump into bed together right away. I really liked how Cole was very patient with her and how when the time came Dana faced her demons and allowed herself to finally feel pleasure with a man she had come to trust.
We get the point of view of the killer as he takes the girls and women (current day) and get a pretty graphic description of what he does to them. This is where I warn it’s not for the faint at heart. If you don’t think you can read about the torture and rape of 10 yr old girls then don’t read this book. But as we all know from reading headlines unfortunately these types of things do happen in real life. I applaud the author for taking this subject matter on and writing a great book about it. She also shows us what happened to those parents of all those children that were killed 15 years ago, that a parent never gets over losing a child like that.