Madison was supposed to be on the school bus. But she never made it home…

Detective Billie Ann Wilde assesses the couple sitting awkwardly on plastic chairs in her interview room, certain she knows exactly what has happened to little Madison Harris. She was supposed to come home on the school bus, but her cold body was found in local marshlands, and as her mother cries desperately, her stepfather, John, barely looks up. And they found Madison’s blood in John’s car…

With John arrested, Billie is certain she has put a killer behind bars, but it’s not long before she hears the heart-shattering news that another girl is missing. Sweet ten-year-old Kayla has also vanished on her way home from school, and with John in custody, it couldn’t have been him. Billie’s only lead is gone.

At Kayla’s house, Billie finds tracks leading to the gnarled trees surrounding the marshes. She races through the wetlands and sees a pale shape floating on the surface of the water. As Billie cradles Kayla’s half-drowned body, desperately hoping she got there in time, she winces when she sees a mark freshly carved into Kayla’s skin.

Certain the intricate star-shaped branding is the key to unlocking the case, Billie shares it with Madison’s mother, who instantly recognizes it as the symbol of her old church. Is there danger hidden behind those private, imposing walls? As another mother finds her little girl gone, Billie will have to fight harder than ever to unlock the truth and save another innocent from being marked by a monster…

A tense and electrifying thriller from international, multi-million-copy bestseller Willow Rose that will have you gripped to the heart-pounding ending. Fans of Lisa Regan, Mary Stone and Kendra Elliot will love the unstoppable twists and turns.