Stealing Shadows

Cassie Neill has a gift she never asked for: she can slip inside the mind of a killer while he plans his crimes. She sees through his eyes and watches his victims' faces as they realize what is coming. What she cannot do is stop him once he acts. For a time she used this ability to help the Los Angeles police track down murderers. Then she made a mistake, and a child died. Shattered, Cassie left California for Ryan's Bluff, a small town in North Carolina, hoping a quiet life would dull the voices that push their way into her head. It does not work. Her talent has no real limits, and before long she is certain that a murderer is hunting in the town she thought was safe. What reaches her first is his rage, followed by his ugly thoughts and the thrill he takes in them. She cannot tell who he is or where he will strike next, and the local sheriff dismisses her warnings. That changes when a body is found in the place and manner she described. Now Cassie is a suspect herself, and her only way to expose the killer is to go deliberately into his twisted mind. It is a dangerous plan, because if he realizes she is there, he may trap her inside and never let her out.