From the New York Times bestselling author comes a new novel of
suspense about coming-of-age in the 1960s--and the neighborhood street
where first love, a child abduction, and abuse collide.
Sixty-one-year-old Shelby Truman, a romance novelist, has received a
request to visit her childhood friend, Eddie, who is on Death Row.
Though mentally ill, Eddie is scheduled to be executed for the
disturbing, brutal murders of his wife and unborn child.
As Shelby travels home to Texas for the unnerving reunion, she steps
back into memories of her past, recalling her five-decade-long
relationship with Eddie in order to understand what led the beautiful
but troubled boy who lived across the street to become a murderer.
Shelby and Eddie used to visit an abandoned fallout shelter in his
backyard, their "secret hiding place" where they could escape Eddie's
abusive father, enjoy innocent playtime, and, later, adolescent
explorations. As they grow increasingly close, a tragedy occurs one July
fourth, an event that sets in motion a lifelong struggle against an
Evil--with a capital "E"--that has corrupted their all-American
neighborhood.
With only a few days left for Eddie to live, Shelby braces herself for a
reunion that promises to shed light on the traumatic events that
transpired on her street, changing everything Shelby thought she knew
about the boy on Chicory Lane.
