BooksBarbecue
Back When the Stars Go Dark
Chapters (83)
  1. Epigraph
  2. Maps
  3. (prologue)
  4. Part 1: Signs and Vapors
  5. (one)
  6. (two)
  7. (three)
  8. (four)
  9. (five)
  10. (six)
  11. (seven)
  12. (eight)
  13. (nine)
  14. (ten)
  15. (eleven)
  16. (twelve)
  17. Part 2: Secret Things
  18. (thirteen)
  19. (fourteen)
  20. (fifteen)
  21. (sixteen)
  22. (seventeen)
  23. (eighteen)
  24. (nineteen)
  25. (twenty)
  26. (twenty-one)
  27. (twenty-two)
  28. (twenty-three)
  29. (twenty-four)
  30. (twenty-five)
  31. (twenty-six)
  32. (twenty-seven)
  33. (twenty-eight)
  34. (twenty-nine)
  35. (thirty)
  36. (thirty-one)
  37. (thirty-two)
  38. (thirty-three)
  39. (thirty-four)
  40. (thirty-five)
  41. (thirty-six)
  42. (thirty-seven)
  43. (thirty-eight)
  44. (thirty-nine)
  45. Part 3: Time and the Maiden
  46. (forty)
  47. (forty-one)
  48. (forty-two)
  49. (forty-three)
  50. (forty-four)
  51. (forty-five)
  52. (forty-six)
  53. (forty-seven)
  54. (forty-eight)
  55. (forty-nine)
  56. (fifty)
  57. (fifty-one)
  58. (fifty-two)
  59. (fifty-three)
  60. Part 4: The Bent Grove
  61. (fifty-four)
  62. (fifty-five)
  63. (fifty-six)
  64. (fifty-seven)
  65. (fifty-eight)
  66. (fifty-nine)
  67. (sixty)
  68. (sixty-one)
  69. (sixty-two)
  70. (sixty-three)
  71. (sixty-four)
  72. (sixty-five)
  73. (sixty-six)
  74. (sixty-seven)
  75. (sixty-eight)
  76. (sixty-nine)
  77. (seventy)
  78. Dedication
  79. (acknowledgments)
  80. (author’s note)
  81. BY PAULA MCLAIN
  82. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  83. What’s next onyour reading list?

My dear friend and accomplice for twenty-two years and counting, Lori Keene, read dozens of drafts and also plunged with me through the real village of Mendocino, as we hiked many of the trails Anna and Hap do in the book and she listened to me find my way to these characters and their stories. For these and so many other reasons, I’ve dedicated the novel to her.

Retired detective Marianne Flynn Statz seemed to appear in my life randomly, but we know the universe doesn’t do random! She read my manuscript with care, answered all of my questions with patience, wisdom, and a wickedly dark sense of humor, and gave me a richer and more granular template for understanding sensitive crimes. This book and Anna are deeper and truer because of her. Thank you, Marianne!

Chris Pavone, Kristin Hannah, and Christina Baker Kline all came through for me in a big way during the drafting process, pointing out things I didn’t necessarily want to hear but absolutely needed to. This book is better by far because of their wise and responsive feedback. At the very least, I owe you guys more fancy cheese!

My amazing publishing team at Ballantine Books and Penguin Random House do their jobs brilliantly and have given me the best possible home these last ten years: Jennifer Hershey, Jennifer Garza, Allyson Lord, Quinne Rogers, Taylor Noel, Susan Corcoran, Kathryn Santora, Hayley Shear, and the incomparable Gina Centrello. Emily Hartley responded to a thousand emails cheerfully and efficiently. Art director and designer Elena Giavaldi created the completely stunning cover, and Dana Blanchette engineered the beautiful interior design elements. Thanks to Susan Bradanini Betz for her thorough and comprehensive copy editing of the manuscript, and to Steve Messina, who graciously and meticulously ushered these pages through a sometimes intense production process. I also need to thank senior VP and deputy general counsel Matthew Martin for his incredibly sensitive and responsive reading of this book.

Nicole Cunningham and the superb team at The Book Group have my back in every possible way and are the world’s savviest and most delightful women. Elisabeth Weed in particular offered feedback on the manuscript at a critical time, for which I’m so grateful. I owe a debt of gratitude as well to Jenny Meyer and Heidi Gall, who help with every aspect of foreign rights and sales; to my consummately charming U.K. agent, Caspian Dennis of Abner Stein; and to my incredibly smart and wonderful film agent, Michelle Weiner at CAA. Thanks to Kristin Cochrane, Amy Black, Lynn Henry, Valerie Gow, Sharon Klein, and their lovely colleagues at Penguin Random House Canada, and to Jenny Parrott at Point Blank/Oneworld in the U.K. for responding so enthusiastically to the potential in me and this story.