Cold Cold Heart

Dana Nolan, the heroine of this chilling psychological thriller from bestseller Hoag (The 9th Girl), used to be a Minneapolis TV reporter, until she was captured by the serial killer known as Doc Holiday, who tortured and raped her. Dana managed to escape her tormentor, but she suffers from PTSD as well as a traumatic brain injury that causes her difficulty performing everyday tasks and retrieving words and memories. When Dana returns to her hometown in Indiana to live with her mother and stepfather, reporters ask her about Casey Grant, her best friend since grade school, who mysteriously disappeared the summer after their high school graduation seven years before, never to be found. Dana gets reacquainted with Casey’s old boyfriend, John Villante, whom many locals suspect killed Casey. As her memories of Casey re-emerge, Dana determines to discover what happened to her friend. Hoag fans will appreciate the cameo appearances of detectives Nikki Liska and Sam Kovac from earlier books. Agent: Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Jan.)