O'Dell, Tawni

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Back Roads comes a fast-paced literary thriller about a forensic psychologist forced to face his own demons after discovering his small hometown terrorized by a serial killer. Dr. Sheridan Doyle--a fastidiously groomed and TV-friendly forensic psychologist--is the go-to shrink for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office whenever a twisted killer's mind eludes other experts. But beneath his Armani pinstripes, he's still Danny Doyle, the awkward, terrified, bullied boy from a blue-collar mining family, plagued by panic attacks and haunted by the tragic death of his little sister and mental unraveling of his mother years ago. Danny returns home to Lost Creek, a town grappling with its own ghosts, and comes face-to-face with the town's legacy of violence--when a dead body is discovered at the famous gallows where a band of rebellious Irish miners was executed 100 years ago. The body also has an eerie connection to the wealthy mining family behind the miners' deaths. When he teams up with a veteran detective and father figure to get to the bottom of these heinous crimes, Danny realizes that he's dangerously close to uncovering haunting secrets from his own past... In this masterfully told psychological thriller in the vein of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, the past and present collide to put Lost Creek's long-lived ghosts to bed"--.

"On the surface, Chief Dove Carnahan is a true trailblazer who would do anything to protect the rural Pennsylvanian countryside where she has lived all fifty of her years. Traditional and proud of her blue-collar sensibilities, Dove is loved by her community. But beneath her badge lies a dark and self-destructive streak, fed by a secret she has kept since she was sixteen. When a girl is beaten to death, her body tossed down a fiery sinkhole in an abandoned coal town, Dove is faced with solving the worst crime of her law enforcement career. She identifies the girl as a daughter of the Truly family, a notoriously irascible dynasty of rednecks and petty criminals. During her investigation, the man convicted of killing Dove's mother years earlier is released from prison. Still proclaiming his innocence, he approaches Dove with a startling accusation and a chilling threat that forces her to face the parallels between her own family's trauma and that of the Trulys"--Provided by publisher.

Ivan Zoschenko, a high school football hero, returns to Coal Run years after a mining explosion that killed his father and devastated the community, intent on a showdown with former teammate Reese Raynor who is slated for release from prison where he spent fifteen years for beating his wife into a coma.

Harley Altmyer, left to raise his three younger sisters when his once-devoted mother is sent to prison, is struggling along just fine until he meets and becomes obsessed with the sexy, melancholic mother of two who lives down the road.

After the death of their father, Kyle and Klint Hayes are taken in by the wealthy town matriarch, Candace Jack. As she grows to care more and more for them, the secret from her past is threatened by their presence to be revealed.