Overview

"When 45-year-old Detective Linda Kane is called to investigate the disappearance of a local teenager, Cassie Caldwell, she is instantly triggered-thrust back to her best friend's disappearance 30 years ago. The new case rattles Royal Oaks, a quaint farming community in northern Connecticut, as Linda wrestles with both guilt and unanswered questions. With eerily similar circumstances, Linda must once again look into her own friend's death, bringing up present-day evil and a troubled relationship with her own daughter. Is there a dark side of Linda she has been afraid to confront? The nature of both disappearances suggests a Norman Rockwellian town harboring dark secrets, as Cassie's life exposes a pantheon of suspects who have reasons to hide behind bucolic bliss. Then, the brutalized body of a second teen is discovered behind Royal Oaks High School. As Linda delves further into Cassie's disappearance, she wonders if all three are the work of a disturbed serial killer who has returned after three decades. Who's next? Linda realizes time is running out-and wonders when the next body will show up. An anonymous tipster leads Linda and her team to Freddie Banks-a local Black bar owner, and Cassie's mother's former lover. In this mostly white town, racism beats an ugly drum as all fingers point to Freddie for the abduction and murder of Cassandra. Enter ""Black Lives Matter."" Linda is now dealing with police brutality and another shocking murder as Royal Oaks is divided along the line of racial ignorance. Working off a hunch that her mother's live-in boyfriend, and the mother herself, are behind Cassie's disappearance, Linda wonders if the answers might have been staring at her in the mirror the entire time. As Linda Kane gets close to finding the truth, after arresting Cassie's mother, she is drawn into a web of disturbing memories and twisted revelations-and the truth behind her best friend's disappearance 30 years before. A savage killer among them. There, in front of everyone the entire time, the killer is closer to Linda than she could have ever imagined. Now Linda must confront the past in order to resolve the demons of the present as the clues add up. The shocking conclusion leads to a far more dangerous truth than she can face."

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Reviews

M. William Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer. -TV Rage Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers. -Allison Brennan on TOO YOUNG TO KILL A chilling crime...award-winning author Phelps goes into lustrous and painstaking detail, bringing all the players vividly to life. -Crime Magazine on NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN Phelps gets into the blood and guts of the story. -Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author of Fear Collector on KILL FOR ME Phelps expertly reminds us that when the darkest form of evil invades the quiet and safe outposts of rural America, the tragedy is greatly magnified. Get ready for some sleepless nights. -Carlton Stowers on MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND M. William Phelps is the rising star of the nonfiction crime genre, and his true tales of murder are scary-as-hell thrill rides into the dark heart of the inhuman condition. -Douglas Clegg on EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE Readers will be rewarded with shocking television-worthy twists in a story with inherent drama. -Publishers Weekly on OBSESSED

Author Information

"True-crime analyst, creator/executive producer and former host of Investigation Discovery's DARK MINDS (2011 -2014), M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 42 nonfiction books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. THE GIRL LEFT BEHIND is his first thriller-a book based on a career's worth of missing person cases he's investigated. Following loosely to his iHeartRadio podcast, ""Paper Ghosts,"" this first novel in a series unites his 20 years of experience working in true-crime, having consulted on the popular Showtime series ""Dexter,"" along with his eight years interviewing serial murderer Keith ""Happy Face Killer"" Jesperson. Phelps has made over 300 hours' worth of appearances on television: KILLER COUPLES, WICKED ATTRACTION, ICE COLD KILLERS, EVIL STEP MOMS, TWISTED, DEADLY WOMEN, SNAPPED, and many more. TV Rage says, ""M. William Phelps dares to tread where few others will. . ."""

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