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Publisher Description
Silver Medal Winner—2016 Independent Publisher Book Awards!
Bronze Medal Winner—2016 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards!
A fire ignites a whirlwind of action and accusation in a swamp town that hasn't seen excitement since the big lottery win twelve years ago. Little does reporter Chloe Keyes know that when she sniffs around for clues, she'll end up facing her own demons while unsettling the very foundation of her hometown.
Chloe starts her day by pulling a gun on two intruders—and things only go downhill from there. Driving to Boyd's General for her daily caffeine fix, she finds the place ablaze. When the flames die down, she uncovers evidence that points to a dire fate for Hoop, her missing childhood friend. He disappeared twelve years ago, on the same day his girlfriend was struck and killed by a car. The events have left a dark mark on Chloe.
Over the next two days, strange occurrences pile up: Chloe's neighbor is found floating and bloated in Black Swamp; the head of a cosmetics conglomerate is arrested by federal agents; phone records point to a dead girl making calls; and a handsome stranger mystifies everyone he encounters. Through it all, the promise of a spectacular magic show captivates the local residents.
Close calls with gators, crossbows, and armed felons lead to a startling conclusion, complete with illusion, chicanery, and the most divisive trick of all: cold hard truth. Will Chloe's murky existence finally be clarified or will she succumb to the demons that haunt her?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The death of 14-year-old Macy LeGrange, who had "heart-shaped lips and ever-pink cheeks" and "possessed a laugh worthy of a jolly, self-assured woman," is at the center of McAneny's intriguing fourth entry (after Skewed) in her Crime After Time series. Macy was riding her bike when she was fatally struck by a car driven by her boyfriend Hoop Whitaker's father, the town drunk in Beulah, S.C. The next day, Hoop disappeared. Twelve years later, Macy and Hoop's former classmate Chloe Keyes, who works as a reporter, revisits the tragedy after a fire at the town's general store leads to a dark discovery in the basement: not only was the store's proprietor, Boyd Sexton, using it to manufacture meth, but a bloodstain and duct tape suggest that Boyd kept a captive there as well. Chloe fears the prisoner was Hoop. McAneny does a fine job maintaining suspense throughout. (BookLife)
