Reluctant RCMP Constable David Leith travels inland from his post in Prince Rupert to the villages of the Hazeltons, to take on the case of a missing young woman. Popular rockabilly singer Kiera Rilkof has walked out the door following what on the surface seems a mild argument with her boyfriend Frank Law, and hasn't returned.
When her vehicle is found abandoned up a logging road, Leith worries she has been taken by the faceless killer in a pickup truck who is forever on the hunt, and forever slipping from his grasp.
Or does the answer lie here in the community, somewhere among her maddeningly cagey fans and friends?
Leith has much to contend with: rough terrain, punishing weather, motel-living and wily witnesses. The local police force is tiny but headstrong, and one difficult young constable named Dion, brought in from Smithers to assist with the search, seems more hindrance than help -- until he wanders straight into the heart of the matter.
The urgency ramps up as one missing woman becomes two, the second barely a ghost passing through. Suspects multiply, but only at the bitter end does Leith discover who is the coldest of them all.
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]