Fade to Black

Townsend Heights is the perfect small town, just the kind of place Tasha Banks longed for when she left her big-city career for full-time motherhood. But now her dream is turning into a nightmare as a serial killer stalks Tasha's friends. One by one they are dying in horrific ways, and terror is transforming her peaceful existence into one of fear and foreboding . . . where evil lurks behind the mask of a familiar face—a face that may be the last one Tasha ever sees.

To have. To hold . . . To die.

On a windswept New England island, he waits, fingering the wedding gowns he's had made for each of them . . . the dresses they will wear when he kills them.

Three women have come to the Bramble Rose Inn. Sandy Cavelli longs to find romance through a personal ad. Liza Danning hopes to land a publishing deal with a reclusive author. And Jennie Towne, masquerading as her own twin, seeks a getaway weekend. They have nothing in common—or so it seems.

Then a storm bears down on the eerie, isolated inn, and the three women are plunged into a terrifying fight for survival. Because someone consumed with revenge has chosen them—for better, for worse . . . 'til death do them part.

Secrets can scandalize . . .

In a lovely suburban town just north of New York City, the gossip mill runs more efficiently than the commuter-train line. And in every impeccably decorated house, they're talking about Lauren Walsh. They say that nothing could be worse than being abandoned by your husband for another woman. They're wrong . . .

Secrets can shock . . .

All Lauren wants is to protect her children from the pain of her messy divorce. But when their father goes missing, a case of mistaken identity puts all their lives in danger, and a stealthy predator lurks in the shadows, watching . . . waiting . . .

Secrets can kill . . .

Lauren is about to uncover an unfathomable truth—a truth this cold-blooded mastermind would never let her live to tell . . .

As the city sleeps in the early hours of September 10, 2001, the killer waits and watches, unaware of the cataclysm to come. Even the nightmare of 9/11 will not postpone his private reign of terror.

Allison Taylor adores her adopted city, New York, loving every minute of the invigorating urban hustle. But on a bright and clear September morning, the familiar landscape around her is savagely altered—and in the midst of widespread chaos and fear, a woman living upstairs from her is found, brutally slaughtered and mutilated.

For Allison . . . for her neighbor, James "Mack" MacKenna, desperately searching for news of his missing wife . . . for homicide detective Rocky Manzillo, hunting for a monster called "The Nightwatcher" amid the smoking ruins of a devastated city, this tragic day will hold a special horror. Because a different kind of terror has entered their lives . . . and it's coming to claim Allison Taylor as its next victim.

The nightmare of 9/11 is a distant but still painful memory for Allison Taylor MacKenna—now married to Mack and living in a quiet Westchester suburb. She has moved on with her life ten years after barely escaping death at the hands of New York’s Nightwatcher serial killer. The monster is dead, having recently committed suicide in his prison cell, but something is terribly wrong. Mack has started sleepwalking, with no recollection of where his nighttime excursions are taking him.And here, north of the city, more women are being savagely murdered, their bodies bearing the Nightwatcher’s unmistakable signature.

Suddenly Allison must confront a devastating truth: her life is in jeopardy once again . . . and quite possibly from the man she trusts and loves.

Elsa Cavalon—petrified that the nightmare from fifteen years earlier is beginning all over again . . .

Marin Quinn—hiding with her daughters in their concrete fortress, her storybook marriage over . . .

Perfect strangers whose once-perfect lives were cruelly shattered, they're bound by a long-lost child, a fragile strand of newfound maternal hope—and mutual loneliness. Yet Elsa and Marin are never truly alone. Someone is always nearby, watching them and their children. Someone driven by vengeance and the simple poetry of nursery rhymes . . . Someone who must satisfy a dark need with innocent blood. And now time is running out for two mothers stalked by a cunning mastermind who wants to leave them . . .

Scared to death

From the New York Times bestselling author comes a novel of suspense so terrifying it may make you afraid of the dark . . .

Allison Taylor MacKenna feels as though she'sawakened at last from a ten-year-long nightmare.But her darkest hour has yet to come . . .

Nestled in the warm, domestic cocoon of loving husbandand family, Allison finally feels safe—unaware that astranger's brutal murder on a Caribbean island is the first step in an intricate plan to destroy everything in her life.

For seasoned NYPD Detective Rocky Manzillo, the signs are clear that something terrible has emerged from the shadows:a murder victim left without a face and a faded photograph that yields a startling connection.

Now, as Allison's murky memoriesof a troubled childhood creep back to light, a cunning predator who shares her history prepares toenact a horrifying retribution—and won't stop killing untilAllison faces a shocking truth . . .and pays the ultimate price.

At thirty-nine, Peyton Somerset has an enviable life, with a thriving advertising career and a beautiful Manhattan apartment. And now she's going to have the one thing she wants most--a baby. Peyton's biological clock went off just as her fiancé took off, leaving her at the altar. So Peyton's going it alone. Already, she's making plans for the little one inside her. . .buying the layette, daydreaming, and worrying over the littlest things. That's only natural. All mothers do. But Peyton has reason to worry. In fact, she has every reason to be terrified. . .

Mama Won't Be Singing Any Lullabies.

As the months pass, Peyton can't help feeling that something is terribly wrong. She's certain that someone has been in her apartment, that she's being followed, that someone is watching her. Maybe it's just hormonal paranoia that makes her distrust everyone around her. Or maybe her maternal instincts are dead on. Maybe there's someone close who doesn't think she should give birth at all. Someone who would do anything to have a baby. Anything. . .

"If you like Mary Higgins Clark, you'll love Wendy Corsi Staub."--Lisa Jackson

Praise for the novels of Wendy Corsi Staub

"Keeps readers in the dark until the final pages. . .offers a challenging puzzle and some eerie chills." --Publishers Weekly

In a remote, heavily wooded area near the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Rachel Lorant died on her birthday. But she didn't die alone. That night, her four sorority sisters make a solemn, trembling pledge. They will never reveal what has just happened in those woods--ever. Instead, they will take their terrible secret to their graves. . .

Now, ten years later, their secret is coming back to haunt them as each receives a card in the mail from Rachel: "Happy Birthday to Me. xoxo R." It's clear that someone knows what happened that night. Someone is stalking them and sending mysterious, chilling gifts that only they can understand--deadly warnings of what is to come. For the sins of the past have come back with a vengeance, and a killer will see that they all pay in blood. . .

Woodsbridge, New York, is the sort of upscale community where the American Dream is alive and thriving--shiny cars, beautiful homes, and safe, tree-shaded streets. There are pools where kids splash each other gleefully, and soccer games where moms cheer their teenagers from the sidelines. For Kathleen Carmody, moving to Woodsbridge is an attempt to escape memories of her own rough childhood and a shattering secret that still haunts her. It's a place where her 13-year-old daughter Jen will have everything Kathleen didn't.

But suddenly, the sleepy, affluent suburb is gripped by fear. One by one, teenage girls are disappearing from Woodbridge's "safe" streets. Someone wants what these charmed people have. Someone who will take what they love most. Someone who is targeting girls with long, blond hair and brown eyes. . .girls who look a lot like Jen. Someone who is watching and waiting for the moment Kathleen drops her guard and kisses her daughter goodbye. . .

"Scary. . .the characters are well-drawn, and the atmosphere suitably gothic. Staub keeps the readers guessing."--Publishers Weekly

"Bunker down for a great read!"--Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author

Includes and excerpt from Wendy Corsi Staub's upcoming thriller Dying Breath!