Sixteen-year-old Diana didn't know Emily McGillicuddy before she disappeared. She had passed her in the hallway a few times, watched her play soccer once or twice and passed her a cup of beer at a party one night. They weren't friends or lovers or enemies; just casual strangers. But now that Emily has been brutally murdered, Diana finds obsessed with her. Their wealthy, vicious community, the elite Franklin Grove, might have forgotten about her, but Diana certainly hasn't. So when a new girl in town, a girl with a deceptively pretty face and an unsettlingly mysterious past, starts to fill the gap that Emily left, she notices, even if nobody else seems to.
A criminal mastermind makes a bold move against a wealthy client to put himself in a position to retire in comfort. He has no idea what he's up against when a young widow, desperate to make ends meet, sets her eyes on earning the bounty set on his head.
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Newly widowed housewife Melody Scott needs to earn some major cash, fast. When her bright and busy children learn that a priceless ruby bracelet has been stolen and a six-figure reward is being offered, they convince her to try to do what the police, museum security, and the best private investigators have failed to do. Working against them is a notorious thief who has met people from around the world, but who has never once encountered a woman like Melody Scott. When the sweet innocence of the Scott family clashes against criminal forces more dangerous than they ever imagined, Melody is all too aware that a mom's got to do what a mom's got to do to protect her family.
The Widow, Melody Scott is a 2021 Watty Award Winner!
Content Warning: This story does contain depictions of stalking behavior.