Heartstopper

A spine-tingling thriller about a picturesque Florida town - and the killer determined to prey on its teenaged girls-from the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Mad River Road. "I've never been a fan of blood and guts," writes the killer, "I've always preferred the buildup to an event over the actual event itself." In Heartstopper, bestselling author Joy Fielding creates a gripping buildup - and payoff - sure to get pulses pounding. Welcome to Torrance, Florida. Population: 4,160. A small town in the middle of Alligator Alley, a safe place where residents feel comfortable leaving their doors unlocked and allowing their children to run freely. It's also the town that Sandy Crosbie, a high school English teacher and mother of two teenagers, now calls home, thanks to her philandering husband who moved the family from New York just so he could live closer to the Barbie clone he secretly met on an Internet chat line. When the body of the most popular girl at Torrance High is found buried in a shallow, swampy grave, everyone in this cozy community becomes a suspect. Suddenly a down-on-his-luck sheriff must wade through the murkier depths of his otherwise sunny jurisdiction to determine who the killer is. Meanwhile, Sandy must do everything in her power to help target the attacker before it's too late. Alternating between the chilling journal entries of a cold-blooded murderer and the sizzling scandals of small town life, Heartstopper is Fielding's most suspenseful novel yet. From the Hardcover edition.