The Dead Place

From the back cover:

You Think You're Safe

The first victim is found floating in a creek-naked, beautiful, brutally garroted. Lily Slocum was a college student with everything to live for and nothing to fear...until a madman made her his obsession...

You Think He Can't See You

At first glance, a quiet campus town like Wickfield seems like the ideal place for Kate Corbin to start over after a traumatic attack. But when another young girl disappears on her way to class, Kate's fear resurfaces in earnest. She's right to be afraid. Behind Wickfield's picture-perfect facade, a nightmare is unfolding...and it's about to strike chillingly close to home...

You're Dead Wrong

A serial killer is on the loose...ruthless, twisted, and lethally smart. Now, locked in a desperate race against time, Kate's only chance of stopping a madman's grisly game is to venture deeper into a diabolical web where no one is who they seem to be...and the smallest mistake could be her last...

Kate Corbin survived a brutal sexual assault which left her depressed, shattered and absent in her life. Her husband, Ian, is offered a position at an university. He accepts thinking the move will help Kate get back on track with her life. In the meantime, their teen-age daughter, Grace, is dating an older guy and breaking every rule to be with him.

The Corbins move to the idyllic town of Wickfield to make a fresh start. What they don't know is a serial killer hides in plain sight, kidnapping and torturing college students. When Kate suspects someone, she begins her own investigation. Unfortunately for her, she accuses the wrong man and is now known as the "crazy stalker". When another girl is abducted, Kate risks everything to make sure she stops the killer before he has the opportunity to kill again.

Overall, I really liked this book. The process Kate went through (and why she gets involved in the first place) to discover the real killer was a bit predictable, but didn't ruin the story for me. The killer is sick and twisted, but manages to contain his/her psychopathology to uphold his/her status in the community. This would be a good book to curl up with during a rainy weekend. (4/5)