"Still on bereavement leave and dreading her upcoming birthday--a byproduct of the kidnapping and murder of her best friend in high school--Detective Charli Cross doesn't feel much like celebrating. She'd much prefer being called in to investigate a reported homicide at a neighborhood playground. Until she realizes the young woman murdered was the nanny of the four-year-old son of a wealthy business mogul and a federal judge. And the boy is missing. Believing the motive to be about money or a past or future case, Charli and the rest of the Savannah Police Department anticipate a ransom demand. But none is forthcoming. When another murder and possible kidnapping occurs, with no similarities to the first victims, Charli fears they're missing a critical piece of the puzzle. And without it, more children may be in harm's way. As Halloween closes in, Charli grapples with solving an ever-growing number of homicides and kidnappings in the present...and deciphering the cryptic yet horrifying messages from a kidnapper from the past who's haunted her for over a decade"--