Gillian Flynn says, "Karin Slaughter is simply one of the best thriller writers working today."

An apparent student suicide has brought medical examiner Sara Linton to the local college campus, along with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. But a horribly mutilated corpse yields up few answers. And a suspicious rash of subsequent "suicides" suggests that a different kind of terror is stalking the youth of Heartsdale, Georgia--a nightmare that is coming to prey on Sara Linton's loved ones.

A small town is being transformed into a killing ground. And the key to a...

Gillian Flynn says, "Karin Slaughter is simply one of the best thriller writers working today."

Two armed men enter the police station in tiny Heartsdale, Georgia, and open fire. When the shooting stops, an officer is dead, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver is seriously wounded, and the survivors--including a class of grade-school children and medical examiner Sara Linton--are held hostage. In a tense standoff that could erupt at any moment into more bloodletting--with her ex-husband on the threshold of death--Sara must search for answers and an escape in the memories of a time at the...