Edgar Award finalist and international bestselling author Brian Freeman brings the long-awaited return of Lieutenant Jonathan Stride to the bitter cold of Duluth, Minnesota. Sixteen-year-old Catalina Mateo shows up unannounced one night in Detective Jonathan Stride's home, dripping wet from a desperate plunge into the icy waters of Lake Superior. Her sodden clothes stained with blood, Cat spins a tale of a narrow escape from a shadowy pursuer. Stride decides to trust this girl, but his judgment may be clouded by memories of Cat's mother. Ten years earlier, Cat hid under the porch of her family home while her mother was brutally butchered by her ex-con father. Stride still blames himself for not preventing the slaughter. But is Cat telling the truth? Stride's police partner, Maggie Bei, doubts the homeless girl, who has been living rough on the streets of Duluth since her mother's death--and now sleeps with a knife hidden under her pillow. As Stride investigates Cat's story, more violence trails in the teenager's wake--and Maggie's suspicions about her deepen. Now a single question haunts the void between them: Should Stride be afraid for--or of--this terribly damaged girl?

Author Biography

A native of Chicago and longtime resident of the Twin Cities, Brian Freeman is an international bestselling author of psychological suspense novels. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 20 languages and have appeared as Main Selections in the Literary Guild and the Book of the Month Club. He is the author of The Cold Nowhere, and Spilled Blood--which was the recipient of the Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards presented by the International Thriller Writers organization. The Burying Place was a finalist for the same award. The Bone House was a finalist for Best Audiobook of the Year in Thriller/Suspense. Brian's debut thriller, Immoral, won the Macavity Award and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry awards for best first novel.