Showing results by author "Stacy Claflin" in All Categories

Alex Mercer and his fiancee Zoey have weathered many storms, but this latest one might be too much for even them. She's hiding a secret she fears will send him running for the hills, and she has to tell him before he finds out on his own. Time is definitely not on her side. But with his busy hours at the police academy, there hardly seems a moment to open up to him.

It started as a day like any other for Alex Mercer. Then he heard the news. Something that only happens in other places is happening in his hometown. Just a few miles away at his daughter's middle school, a shooter is on the loose. Alex does what every other parent in town does - he races to the school to find out if his loved ones are safe. His world falls apart around him, and he can't turn to his best friend because they're both dealing with scathing terror. As the motive behind the shooting comes to light, secrets and betrayals spiral out of control.

When local children begin to vanish, Officer Alex Mercer is positive the cases are tied to recent threats against his family - especially since the first girl to go missing is his best friend's daughter. It all ties back to Alex. He's sure of it. The only solid link to the missing kids is a mysterious woman in a red dress. But that isn't enough to go on, and Alex has orders to focus on another case. As if that will stop him.

On the surface, the Mercers are finally settling into a comfortable routine - Alex's job is going great, he's accepted his unusual family dynamics, and they're even planning a dream vacation. Things couldn't be better. Or could they? Dig a little deeper, and the problems are growing out of control. Someone is threatening to ruin Alex, his wife is harboring a shocking secret, and their daughter is hiding a dangerous new relationship.

Jess McAdams dotes on her four children and gives advice and suggestions to parents all around the world. No one would ever question her love and devotion to her children, let alone suspect her of murdering one. But Alex Mercer does. Alex has plenty of experience investigating crimes involving missing kids. So when he senses something is wrong, he trusts his instincts. The only problem is, he's a newly deputized officer of the law. If he's wrong about Jess, he'll destroy his career before it gets off the ground.

Most family ties are silken threads. Others are literally handcuffs. Kenzi Brannon thinks most of her problems are behind her until she gets a call from the local jail. Her mother, a proven killer, is being released due to overcrowding. Blood takes care of blood, so there is no turning Regina away. She returns to live at Brannon House. A haunted house. A house reputedly so cursed, some neighbors want it razed to the ground.

Kenzi Brannon wakes in a psychiatric ward, her mind fractured between reality and hypnotic commands she can't escape. Haunting visions of underground chambers stalk her every thought, and one terrifying question lingers: What if she made me hurt someone?

When Billa feels eyes following her every move in her cottage on the edge of the estate, she dismisses it as paranoia—the lingering trauma of her kidnapping. But as the sensation intensifies, she reluctantly considers the one place she swore she'd never move into: the mansion.

They call me the Huntress. A myth rewritten in blood and bone. The first of my kind. A girl forged by fae fear and human hate. The last thing they expect is for me to survive. Now I train in the shadows with the father I once feared, each lesson sharpening the power inside me. The hunter's blood burns hotter, faster, clawing toward something I can't name. But my mother left behind a message only I can read—whatever it reveals, someone would kill to keep buried. Because there's a movement rising. One that wants to erase my bloodline from existence. I should run. But I'm done running.

I always thought the worst thing about my life was shoveling manure. Turns out, I was wrong. My mother's dying words reveal a devastating truth: I'm half-fae. Before I can even process this, my stepfather announces he's sold me off to a cruel stranger. So I run. Into the woods, where fae lurk in the shadows, waiting. The only person I trust is Harek, my best friend. Yet even he has been keeping secrets. Can I trust anyone at all?

Lydia Harris knows her marriage to Dean has problems, but when she finds a box of news clippings he took great pains to conceal, the problems go from disappointing to dangerous. Nation-wide murders . . . in cities where he has traveled. She doesn't want to believe him capable of such violence, so she searches for clues to explain the hidden clippings.

Halloween has been Ariana's favorite holiday since she was little, and this year is no different. As she plans a huge neighborhood bash, things take a drastic turn when her friend Bella shows up, scared for her life. Ariana and Damon never turn away someone in trouble, but this time it might put them in harm's way. They do their best to keep Bella hidden, but the unhinged murderer won't give up his search. And he's getting closer.

Ariana and Damon thought it was bad enough that their home burned to the ground. But when bodies are unearthed on their property, the police pin them as suspects—and their world turns upside down. Damon has always been haunted by his father's past, but more than ever before, being Cal Jones's son is an even bigger burden to bear. Worse yet, his wife is getting dragged through the mud along with him.

Macy has faced horrors worse than she ever imagined at the hands of her kidnapper, Chester Woodran. She's played the part of the daughter he sought to replace. It's becoming more and more apparent that her only chance to survive may involve a risky escape attempt. As her friends and family deal with their own dark secrets, Macy must risk everything to have one last chance at freedom.

Ariana and Damon have just started to rebuild their lives when more bones are found in their tight-knit neighborhood. These have nothing to do with the remains found earlier. That means one thing—another killer is roaming free. The police are investigating, but Ariana's friend Maya has discovered startling clues that she can't tell them. But when Ariana's own family is in crisis, she can't worry about what might be unraveling all around them...until the mystery proves too much to ignore and the only way to peace is to find answers.

A destination wedding is the idyllic escape. Except when there's a murderer on the loose. Ariana and Damon are thrilled for a getaway weekend to celebrate their friends' new life together. Everything is smooth sailing until strange things start happening . . . Unexplained noises. People feeling watchful eyes when alone. Mysterious threats. Then a member of the wedding party goes missing.

Rusty Caldwell is a lonely victim of tragedy. After losing his wife and kids to a drunk driver, he spends most nights towing drunks to keep them off the streets. His one-track existence takes a turn when he finds out his estranged sister Mandy has committed suicide. After flying out to offer his support, Rusty learns there's much more to the story. It turns out his sister had been cheating on her husband Chris with Travis Calloway, the rich CEO of the biggest company in town. Before Mandy died, she claimed that Travis fathered one of her children and demanded that he pay up . . .

True-crime podcasters Ariana and Damon Jones seek respite from their rough year with a camping trip in the wilderness. But the solace they hoped would bring peace soon twists into a sinister stage for a deadly game of terror. A shadowy figure infiltrates the campsite, masquerading as just another camper. The group shrinks as people vanish or show up dead. Cut off from civilization, Ariana and Damon realize they're trapped with a monster, their every move watched by a predator hidden in plain sight.

Alex Mercer thought his worst days were behind him. Instead, his life is falling apart from the seams. Again. While his marriage is on the brink of divorce, his daughter is once more the target of a potential abductor. Alex will do whatever it takes to keep her safe while working to get to the bottom of the infamous kidnapping ring once and for all. He believes one of his superiors in the police department to be involved with the criminal mastermind, and he will do anything to prove it. But if his suspicions prove wrong, it will end his career.

It's been nearly a full year since there were any local kidnappings, but now girls are going missing left and right. There are few commonalities linking them together, and the only evidence Alex Mercer has are the ransom notes left on each victim's front door. Tensions mount as clues point to the notorious kidnapping ring driven from town twelve months ago—the same ring that's tormented him and his loved ones for years. With so many young lives on the line, Alex is desperate. And he works tirelessly to solve the crimes before anyone dies. But if the ring has returned?