You can't run away from the past until the past is finished with you. Whatever you started--or what your creepy sister did under cover of darkness--will haunt you and pursue you anywhere in the world where you try to run and hide.

The past is never finished until it's finished--like your drug-addicted mother, your run-away father, and mom's string of nasty boyfriends. That's just for starters back in tiny Sharpsville, New York State.

That's what Anna Clair and Bella Clair discover when they reach adulthood and try to run away from family secrets, terrifying events, and sinister consequences in their teenage lives back home.

The two sisters separately have left their mother's dark, decaying little house in a tiny rural town. Anna and Bella, who never got along and maybe never really knew each other well, despite growing up under the same roof, have each separately moved across the country to sunny San Diego for a fresh start in life. They hardly ever call each other, but fate has scary ideas in store for them and will slam them together like never before.

Each thinks the other is a bit creepy and scary, to put it mildly. Now the past catches up again.

The old saying is: No matter where you go, there you are.

And so are the dreadful consequences of long-ago crimes and misdeeds, which have pursued Anna and Bella across a continent.

There is no peace, no rest, no saving grace. It's a fast tale, a roller coaster ride with our eyes bulging as we readers hang on for dear life, and discover one horrifying secret darker than the one before it.

And then a number of intriguing, beautiful new persons come into their lives. Courting Bella is the tall blond surfer Jack Kelley, a computer genius. Anna is mesmerized by the powerful, handsome young businessman Charles Spencer and his smoldering young sister, the darkly beautiful Delilah. Another is the strange, almost deranged, passionate young man named Fox, who keeps popping up in both Anna's and Bella's days bringing undercurrents of memory and unease.

Let's start reading, and know we will not be able to stop once we get sucked in.

Who is the creepy sister really? Each tells her story from her point of view, and sociopaths never see themselves as the guilty party. They can kill someone without blinking an eyelash, and blame it on the victim or on anyone other than themselves. Because they are so cold-blooded, they plan things to the last detail (and that means: the very last, final deadly detail).

Here's the bottom line on all of John T. Cullen's acclaimed thrillers and other novels: You always have a strong male lead, and an equally strong female lead. They fall in love while racing through blurry tunnels of danger, suspense, and intrigue. In the end, the hero and heroine always reach Happy Ever After (HEA).

Another note: the writing is subtle; watch for clues shimmering deep under the surface during a seemingly easy-going opener that lets us get to know and empathize with the lead characters... but suspense is building the whole time... and *then* watch when the hammer comes down... until the breathless ending, when we can relax on a sunny beach in San Diego or the Riviera or elsewhere, inhale the fragrances of sun tan oil and Merlot, and catch our breath. Readers always say three things to the author: (1) I couldn't stop reading; (2) it was so vivid that I could see the movie in my head every moment; and (3) when can I read your next story? (soon, my friend, soon).