Caroline Crane Books

Jessica Haydens best friend, a lovely French girl, is killed by a mugger on an American College campus. Now Jessica has traveled to the Riviera, where the slain girl lived, to pay a sympathy call on her family.But someone doesnt want her there. She is stalked by a man whom she recognizes as one of the last to visit her friend. Her hotel room is searched, and acts of violence follow. By now it is clear that her friends death was much more than a senseless mugging. Whatever the reason, Jessica is involved, but she does not know how or why.With Jessicas life in danger, two menone a charming American, the other a dazzling Frenchmanboth claim they want to help her, but who can she trust? Who is the shadowy enemy that wants her dead, and why? Its up to Jessica to save herself, and when she thinks the terror is finally over, she discovers its only beginning. Here, set on the beautiful French Riviera, is a compelling story of romance and terror that twists and turns to a surprising climax.

To save herself and her small daughter, Pauline must disappear. During the night, her husband Jarvis packed a bag and silently drove away. In a farewell note he begged her, for her own safety, not to look for him. That evening, two strange men arrive to inform her that Jarvis owes them $40,000. To save his failing business, Jarvis tried to get a bank loan. When the bank refused, he went to loan sharks, these men who now tell Pauline that she is responsible for her husband¡_s debt and the $2,000 weekly interest. If she doesn¡_t pay, her little daughter Kirby might become the victim of an ¡°accident.¡± The police will not protect her without solid evidence. Her friends in the affluent suburb do not want to be involved. She will have to take Kirby and go into hiding, lose herself in teeming New York City. But she has no money and few connections there. Where will she stay? How will she live? Here is an engrossing story of a woman whose frantic attempt to vanish leads her to a series of shocking surprises.

Drafted into telling fortunes at a fund-raising carnival, Angela Dawn prepares herself by studying a book on palmistry, never dreaming that lives will be changed by her predictions.On carnival night, Angela sees thngs she does not want to see. For two people, she forecasts an early death. One receives her warning; the other does not. For her best friend she predicts a head injury and possible suicide. When an accident makes the first part come true, the prophecy threatens to become self-fulfilling. Will the rest happen, too? The most glowing future goes to wealthy Glen Fabian. Glen is too sophisticated to believe in fortune-telling, until the fulfillment of a tragic prophecy makes it all seem possible. But there will be a high price to pay for his success.Angela stands by helplessly as lives are shattered all because her predictions are taken seriously. No one believes her when she tries to convince them it was only in fun. As for herself, which will be her fate-the happy marriage or the early death? Here is a chilling story of terror triggered by an innocent game, with few winners and many losers.

The terror begins with a phone call in the night. A little boy has been injured, hit by a car. Hundreds of miles away his frantic mother, Diane Hastings, tries to reach him by the earliest flight. It is a holiday weekend and no seats are available. In desperation she turns to her former lover, Travis, an amateur pilot. That same night, shots ring out in the city. A teen-age girl falls dead, victim of a restaurant holdup. The bandit, fleeing on foot, disappears. The next morning, when Diane, Travis, and his young daughter Shelley embark on their trip upstate, they are joined by a stranger who begs for a ride to reach his sick wife in Montreal. Over the frozen Adirondack wilderness, the plane is forced down. Diane and Travis, both injured in the crash, are left for dead. Shelley is taken hostage by the stranger. The temperature plummets and a snowstorm begins, making rescue impossible. With Travis in danger of dying from his injuries, Diane must do something. But what? The stranger, armed and vicious, is out there in the snow, ready to strike at any moment.

A teenager has been kidnapped. The ransom was paid, but Amy is still missing. Detective Mike Tarasco turns to his friend Solomon Thayer, a professional psychic, for help. Solomon “sees” the girl in an underground vault. He “sees” that there have been others victimized by the same person. As Solomon searches for the girl, his feelings about the kidnapper grow stronger. He senses something terrible, something evil. But hampered by personal problems, he is unable to concentrate. His young wife, rebelling against an unsatisfying marriage, has been seeing another man, but she does not want to hurt Solomon. Because he is psychic, she must block her thoughts. Aware that something is happening, he struggles to penetrate her mental wall as she struggles to protect it. Meanwhile, a man is caught with some of the ransom money. He confesses to the kidnapping, but cannot tell the police where Amy is. They think they have their perpetrator. Solomon disagrees, but no one listens. He is losing his wife and his credibility. Then the killer strikes again. And again. The story races toward a startling climax as Solomon engages in a life-and-death struggle for everything that he and others hold precious.

A woman wakes in a hospital bed, helpless after a near-fatal ¡°accident.¡± With her jaw wired shut, she can¡_t scream when a masked man creeps into her room. She doesn¡_t know who he is. She doesn¡_t even know who she is. The man flees, but he will be back. Her shattered mind knows that much. Someone wants her dead. Gradually her memory begins to return. She remembers the teenage Lyn Garrity applying for a job and falling in love with her married boss. Owen¡_s marriage was on the rocks and he returned her love. She remembers the glamorous dates, the night drives under city lights, the trysts in an elegant apartment overlooking Central Park. Trying to right the wrong of her illicit romance, Lyn ended their affair, but she could not forget Owen. Then tragedy struck Owen¡_s family, bringing horror in its wake, and finally happiness. Lyn remembers everything now¡aor does she? Leaving the hospital, she returns to her husband and children. But something is wrong. Things are not what they seem, or what they should be. And the man who tried to kill her still watches and waits. He will come again. Very soon.

The tragic death of young Patty Lonergan from poisoned candy on Halloween shatters the lives of her family. Her father, Brian, consumed by grief, is determined to uncover the truth and seek justice for his daughter. As he embarks on this quest, the story delves into themes of loss, vengeance, and the impact of tragedy on familial bonds. Brian's relentless pursuit of the murderer reveals the dark undercurrents of their seemingly idyllic life, leading to a gripping exploration of grief and resilience.

Kate Armstrong pays little attention to the news about a fatal holdup in a local bank. Her mind is on Ted’s trip to Chicago with a beautiful co-worker. She can’t know how soon the crime will affect her. Kate and her children are just leaving a circus day gala at the shopping mall when they are taken prisoner by two desperate fugitives. Forced to drive all night in the rain, Kate knows that her only use is to provide transportation. Once the desperadoes reach safety, she and the children will be killed. Their absence is noticed only when Ted returns home to an empty house. While detectives search in vain for a witness or a clue, Kate struggles alone against the horrors of captivity, the constant threat of death. In only a matter of time, her children, and then she, will be eliminated. But she is helpless against the bandits and their guns, their muscle power, and the strange psychological tie that binds a victim to her captor. This is a story of suspense and detection, of ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances, of a mother confronted with a terrible choice.

Mystery Writers of America Presents: A suspenseful novel of a seaside vacation turned deadly. Fourteen might seem a little young for a full-time mother's helper, but Mary Shelburne wasn't worried. Prim and responsible Cinni was the best girl Mary interviewed. With two small children and another on the way, Mary needed help that summer at their rented beach house on the tip of Long Island. Her husband Gavin could join them only on weekends. By the time summer arrives, Cinni has changed. Gone are the owlish glasses and the dumpy figure. Cinni is indeed mature, but not in a way Mary would have suspected. At first Mary doubts her own sanity. Who would believe that such a polite, quiet girl could be a threat-until it's too late? Eaten by envy, Cinni is determined to take over Mary's life and will stop at nothing, even murder. By the time Mary understands this, Cinni has the upper hand. The whole Shelburne family is pulled into a web of vicious terror.

Before her marriage to Carl Gilwood, life for Joyce, a widow, was filled with hardship. Now she can make a new beginning for herself and her young daughter Gail. Now Gail will have a chance to grow up safe in the surburbs . . . Until two girls are reported missing. Until Gail and her friend, playing one summer afternoon in the woods, make a grisly discovery. Then another missing girl is found murdered. The crimes are hideous, the work of a maniac, an irrational killer. His victims could be anybody. So could he. Is he the local wino, or some neighbor hiding behind a façade of respectability? Panic rages. The heat is on Police Chief Frank D’Amico to find the killer before another girl dies. The murders go on. With Carl at work all day, Joyce is left to cope alone. And to wonder. Her life is falling apart. Her family is in danger—from more than just the murders. Then Gail and her playmate disappear . . .