"Still holding the carnations, I propel myself forward, pushing the crimson flowers into his face as hard as I can. The green stems bend and break into a thousand pieces upon impact, sending fragments of stems and leaves and carnation petals everywhere."

One act of violence changes everything in

Mary Salmon Lake's riveting new novel, "Ride to the In-Between." As one woman comes to grips with a split-second decision, she will be forced to face her past as well as her future.

Yara has always been a loner, keeping to herself as much as possible while working shifts as a nurse at the...