HURT

In this 80,000-word novel, three small-town cops find their assumptions about duty—to family and community—shattered when a serial murderer targets teenage girls in their town.

Newly divorced Patrolman Ray Trueman believes he must protect his two daughters, who are involved in the same clique as the killer’s victims. His ex-wife’s uncertainty about whether he can do the job better than she can, however, drives him back to his recently widowed former girlfriend. Ray’s conflict between family and girlfriend distracts him and confuses his daughters, leading them to take even more risks with their lives.

Officer Frank Brennan thought he was the best candidate to work with students at the local high school, but he’s more optimistic about the world than some students—namely, Ray’s daughter and her friends. The more he tries to educate them about the risks to their safety, the more they resist. After a third girl dies, Ray’s daughter learns enough about the suspects that could make her the fourth victim.

Eight months ago, Detective Sean Monroe botched a rape case and slept around the department. Still, her supervisors give her a second chance: liaison to the state police detective investigating the murders. Battling her colleagues’ poor opinions of her as well as her own low confidence, she can’t bring herself to trust even her own instincts as the trooper’s partner and love interest.

Their choices devastate Ray’s family and the community at large, but the chance to catch the killer and save Ray’s daughter offers all three cops an opportunity for redemption—if they don’t give up on themselves.