Chasing Darkness
The most dangerous place to hide is in the dark...
A tough special-agent with the Department of Justice, and a dedicated single mother to her orphaned nephews, Samantha Chase is unbreakable. Until two women, both from the shadows of Sam’s past, are discovered strangled. For Sam, the most unnerving detail is the eucalyptus branch tucked behind the victims’ ears—the signature of a notorious serial murder already convicted and executed for his crimes.
To detective Nick Thomas, the only link to the copycat killings is Sam herself. And when she becomes the target of threats—each one more menacing than the last—his feelings for her just might jeopardize the case. But to understand the killer’s twisted motive is to explore Sam’s past—and a crime she’s spent a lifetime trying to bury...
AWARDS:Winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award
REVIEWS:"Girard knows how to rivet your attention." ~New York Times bestselling author Michael Prescott"Gripping...not for the faint of heart." ~New York Times bestselling author Phillip Margolin"Girard plunges her readers into a horrifying journey... [Her] characters leap off the page." ~The Piedmont Post
OTHER SUSPENSE NOVELS by Danielle Girard:Savage ArtRuthless GameCold SilenceThe Rookie Club
ABOUT DANIELLE GIRARD:As one of four children, Danielle Girard grew up in a house where the person with the best story got heard, and it’s probably no surprise that fast-paced suspense stories have always been her favorite. Girard’s books have won the Barry Award and been selected for the RT Reviewers Choice Award. Two of her novels have been optioned for movies.
From Publishers WeeklyIn this taut psychological thriller, Girard (Ruthless Game) portrays the effects of child abuse with clarity and honesty, demonstrating how some victims turn into victimizers while others choose to guard the innocent. Samantha Chase, a special agent for the Department of Justice and a former homicide detective, spends her time apprehending child abusers and caring for her orphaned twin nephews. At all times she represses her own traumatic childhood experiences and maintains an aloof distance from her colleagues, friends and family. But when a copycat killer begins targeting women who are connected to Sam through her cases, her life starts to unravel. Her colleagues wonder what she's hiding behind her icy veneer could she be a rogue cop? and a single-minded police chief who's convinced of her guilt is determined to put her away. Sam's primary ally is her ex-lover, Detective Nick Thomas, but his lingering affection for her may place her life in jeopardy. As Sam and Nick come nearer to uncovering the killer, disturbing secrets about Sam's past and her nephews' bleak childhood come to light. Girard maintains the novel's swift pacing and high tension, but a too perfect denouement detracts from the stark, realistic canvas she has created. Still, this is a compelling thriller and a skillful treatment of a difficult topic. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.