"From the author of the beloved Ruth Galloway series, a modern gothic mystery for fans of Magpie Murders and The Lake House"-- Clare Cassidy is no stranger to murder. A high school English teacher specializing in the Gothic writer R. M. Holland, she teaches a course on it every year. But when one of Clare's colleagues and closest friends is found dead, with a line from R. M. Holland's most famous story, "The Stranger," left by her body, Clare is horrified...

"A middle school teacher leaves home one morning and never arrives at his job. He leaves behind his briefcase and his phone, along with photographs of some of his female students. Across town, a detective on Santa Rosa's Violent Crimes Investigations team joins a colleague from the narcotics division as they investigate the killing of a dealer and local heroin smuggling operation. As the two cases converge in unexpected ways, secrets rise to the surface,...