Come and Get Me: A Caitlin Bergman Novel

When journalist Caitlin Bergman, the heroine of Norman’s chilling first novel and series launch, returns to her hometown of Bloomington, Ind., to receive an honorary degree, she’s approached by a reporter for the student newspaper, who asks her whether she’s going to look into the disappearance of Angela Chapman. Angela vanished after a night of drugs and debauchery two years earlier. Caitlin reluctantly decides that writing about Angela might help her finally face her own 20-year-old trauma over a rape in which her assailant left her for dead. She exposes a series of mistakes, indifference, incompetence, and lies about the night Angela went missing, which doesn’t endear her to the local police or to Angela’s friends. Indeed, Caitlin’s relentless probing and abrasive manner alienates everyone in Bloomington who might help her. Meanwhile, a serial killer lurks in the wings. The skillfully rendered plot is full of page-turning action, but readers should be prepared for graphic depictions of physical and psychological violence. Norman is off to a solid start. Agent: Eric Myers, Myers Literary Management. (Apr.)