About this ebook
Small-town secrets are revealed in the wake of a Catholic priest’s murder in upstate New York in this heart-stopping novel from an Edgar Award–winning author.
Two decades ago, the tiny New York hamlet of Bessemer was horrorstruck when a young Catholic priest was savagely bludgeoned to death in the middle of a blinding winter deluge. No one was ever charged with the crime, so when police beat reporter Ed Sperl listens to an old recording of journalists talking about the sensational case, he’s stunned to notice something: the tiniest of connections that no one has made before. The new evidence compels him to investigate further than he thought possible—and further than some people would like.
The woman who made the recording, Bessemer reporter Marlee West, is still dealing with the shadow that has hung over her small town since that terrible night. And she fears that her colleague’s curiosity has awakened a nightmare from the past. But the killer is already closer than she dares to imagine.
From an author known for both true crime and suspense, including the Edgar Award winner Carolina Skeletons, this is a chilling thriller that “will surprise even the most astute mystery reader” (Publishers Weekly).
Two decades ago, the tiny New York hamlet of Bessemer was horrorstruck when a young Catholic priest was savagely bludgeoned to death in the middle of a blinding winter deluge. No one was ever charged with the crime, so when police beat reporter Ed Sperl listens to an old recording of journalists talking about the sensational case, he’s stunned to notice something: the tiniest of connections that no one has made before. The new evidence compels him to investigate further than he thought possible—and further than some people would like.
The woman who made the recording, Bessemer reporter Marlee West, is still dealing with the shadow that has hung over her small town since that terrible night. And she fears that her colleague’s curiosity has awakened a nightmare from the past. But the killer is already closer than she dares to imagine.
From an author known for both true crime and suspense, including the Edgar Award winner Carolina Skeletons, this is a chilling thriller that “will surprise even the most astute mystery reader” (Publishers Weekly).
About the author
David Stout (b. 1942) is an accomplished reporter who has been writing mysteries and true crime since the 1980s. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, Stout took a job at the New York Times in 1982. He spent nearly twenty-eight years at the newspaper, as a reporter, editor, and rewrite man covering national news and sports, and retired in 2009.
Stout began writing his first novel while working at the Times. Based on the true story of a 1940s double-murder for which fourteen-year-old George Stinney was controversially executed, Carolina Skeletons (1988) won Stout an Edgar Award for best first novel. After two more well-received mysteries, Night of the Ice Storm (1991) and The Dog Hermit (1993), Stout turned to writing nonfiction. Night of the Devil (2003) tells the story of famous convict Thomas Trantino, while The Boy in the Box (2008) is an investigation of one of America’s most famous unsolved murders. Since retiring from the Times, Stout has redoubled his work on his next book.
Stout began writing his first novel while working at the Times. Based on the true story of a 1940s double-murder for which fourteen-year-old George Stinney was controversially executed, Carolina Skeletons (1988) won Stout an Edgar Award for best first novel. After two more well-received mysteries, Night of the Ice Storm (1991) and The Dog Hermit (1993), Stout turned to writing nonfiction. Night of the Devil (2003) tells the story of famous convict Thomas Trantino, while The Boy in the Box (2008) is an investigation of one of America’s most famous unsolved murders. Since retiring from the Times, Stout has redoubled his work on his next book.
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