"[In 1849] As a child, Valentine saw her mother murder the wealthiest man in their Connecticut town and then hang at the gallows. Neglected by her father, she's learned to fend for herself, living in a crumbling estate that feels haunted by the past. Now a top student at Drake Academy, she's determined to prove herself and overcome her mother's crime. But like all small towns, Feavers Crossing has a stiflingly long memory, and when a new string of murders occurs, all signs point to the daughter of a killer as they most likely suspect. Outcast and isolated, Valentine finds an unlikely ally in Rowan Blackshaw, the son of the man her mother murdered all those tears ago"--Jacket flap.