Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
His response was met with silence.
“Ben—” Adam’s tone had cooled “—you have to know we respect and understand what you’ve been through, that it’s been painfully difficult.”
“It’s profoundly appreciated, Adam.”
“But it’s been a few years now. I’m getting pressure from senior people here to get you firmly committed to a new book.”
“I get that.”
“Ben—” Roz jumped in “—Adam knows this, but your foreign publishers have also been pushing hard for a new book.”
Adam continued, “What about these more recent cases in the US? There’s the Minneapolis case of the mom who never reported her toddler missing for a month. Then the child’s body was found in a suitcase in a forest and the mother was charged. Then there’s that case in Boston of the father who came to find his wife and twin sons missing. They have yet to be found but police suspect him. What about those?”
“I know about them from the coverage. I’ll consider them.”
“Ben, your Swedish publisher suggested one about a husband and wife, both of them doctors, who’d been abducting people and keeping them in a dungeon outside of Stockholm. And we just got this one from your Canadian publisher who suggests you look at an older case of a family murdered in a small town. It’s twenty years old but it’s got a twist of some sort. Do you know about these Swedish and Canadian cases?”
“No, I don’t.”
“I’m sorry to be the bad guy here,” Adam said, “but we’ve gone above and beyond the extensions stipulated in the contract. The publisher’s message to you today is that if we don’t have your commitment and a short outline for your next book in our hands within sixty days, we’ll demand return of the advance and end the contract. And Ben, the publisher could also consider legal action to recoup any costs arising from catalog listings and production scheduling.”
The seconds passed with Ben saying nothing.
“You understand the seriousness of this, Ben?” Roz said.
“It’s crystalline.”
“We’ll send you summaries of the ones we’ve just discussed and any others we like,” Adam said. He sighed, his voice warming. “I know you can pull this all together.”
“Thank you, Adam, and thank you, Roz. I promise to do my best.”
The call ended and Tug came into his office and nuzzled his lap just as his computer pinged with the email of the newest story suggestions. They were short and he looked them over. He knew nothing about either of them. The Swedish case involving doctors and a dungeon intrigued him. He saw that the Canadian case from twenty years ago happened in Eternity, Manitoba.
“Eternity,” he repeated out loud to Tug. “Now that’s an intriguing name.”