\\\*Somewhere in this book is a hidden “Easter Egg,” a bold text link to 3 FREE Qwickie novellas by 3 bestselling authors. This is a time limited offer, so happy reading and hunting! Some secrets can come back to haunt you… Principal Emily Taylor feels safe in the friendly little town of Burchill—until she finds a body in her school. The murder of caretaker Nathaniel Ryeburn brings back memories she'd rather forget and plunges Emily into a mystery that involves a secret diary, an illegal puppy mill and a murderer innocently disguised as an ordinary citizen. As fear rips through the traumatized town, Emily's investigation inadvertently leads the police to her door, and to her husband Langford, who is hiding a secret of his own. It becomes clear to Emily that many of Burchill's residents are merely wearing masks. And it's time for those masks to be ripped away…and for a killer's identity to be revealed. Editorial "A story rich in detail with unexpected twists and turns." —Meredith Henderson, actress, film producer, poet "Love and depravity, rebirth and rot, veneer and the real wood underneath—Astolfo brings these opposing forces into play." —Garry Ryan, author of the Detective Lane Mysteries "Master storyteller Cathy Astolfo pulls out all the stops as old secrets come back to kill…in this chilling story of twisted desires." —Lou Allin, author of She Felt No Pain

Not all legacies are good ones… While Emily Taylor deals with the dysfunctional Sanderson family at school, seemingly unconnected characters play out their own troubled journeys into the past. Doro searches for her lost childhood. Alain Reneaux delves into the reasons behind his violent nightmares. The town's new lawyer, Jacob Finch, suffers from guilt about the heartbreaking death of his wife. And two lonely little girls suffer neglect and tragedy. As Emily untangles the complexities of the Sanderson children’s lives, the collision of past into future causes an inferno of insanity and death, which ultimately proves how essential family and friendship are to happiness and endurance.