Marine Staff Sergeant Stephanie Zoubareya is on medical leave after breaking the golden rule of the Corps: don't put ghosts in your report. Certainly don't follow them into the Malian desert and fight a fundamentalist militia. (It might not technically be a golden rule, but it should be.) As she contemplates what she's going to do with the rest of her life, she gets an under the table gig protecting a mute archaeologist. All they have to do is drive to New England, check out a statue, spend some of the NSA's money on hotel that looks out onto the sea. But that was before she killed a monster in a New York alleyway, or a religious cult cornered them at a gas station. Now she's worried that Dr. Penny Etrange is more than she seems, that Wickerman Cove has a secret, and that she might not actually be working for the NSA.

A Paranormal Thriller Psychology professor Denton Reed has been pulled out of the classroom to find a killer. Bodies are turning up all over the quiet town of Bexhill. They are found dismembered and burned beyond recognition in a snow covered farmer's field, by the abandoned mill, and under the train bridge. The only clue linking the victims is the bizarre figure-eight patterns left behind in their homes. Denton must use his unique profiling techniques to uncover the murderer, who the police have dubbed Mr. 8. As he begins to unravel the mystery, a strange pattern begins to emerge. Before their deaths, each victim was seized by dark obsessions and inexplicable changes in behavior. Whatever strange forces are affecting the people of Bexhill, they may actually be more dangerous than any killer. As a wave of insanity sweeps the town, Denton will put his life on the line to get to the source of the madness and risk all to protect the woman he loves. But is it already too late? [Rated PG-13 For scenes of violence and strong language] *Cover art by Donald Cronkhite. Best RankingMay 12, 2014 - #1 Mystery/Thriller, #2 Horror