"In Jason Parent’s Unbalanced, a detective becomes embroiled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a possible psychopath.
By-the-book Detective Asante Royo can only sweep up Fall River’s filth for so long without getting dirty. When he’s called to an apparent suicide at an apartment complex notorious for its prostitution racket and drug trade, he doesn’t shed a tear for the life wasted. Yet, something about the scene haunts his thoughts, and when his investigation gets swept under the rug, he has a hard time living with its stain.
Jaden Sanders is an unstable loner who lives across the hall from the crime scene. When three unarmed men break into Jaden’s apartment, he kills two of his attackers in self-defense, but he stalks and stabs the third in the back as the man flees, and it lands Jaden on trial for murder.
With no clear motives for the home invasion or Jaden’s violent response, Royo must uncover the story before more people get hurt, his only leads extracted from a truly unbalanced mind. Is Jaden merely a victim being steamrolled by cold justice, or is he a murderer capable of killing again?"
"Midnight. Some call it the witching hour. Others call it the devil’s hour. Here in the graveyard, midnight is a very special time. It is a time when ghostly spirits are at their strongest, when the veil between our world and theirs is at its thinnest. Legend has it, that while most of the world is asleep, the lack of prayers allow the spirits to communicate under the cover of darkness, among the headstones, their whispers rustling in the leaves of the old oak trees. But if you’re here in the graveyard, you can tell yourself it’s just the wind, that the moonlight is playing tricks on your eyes, that it’s only the swirling mist you see. But when you hear the graveyard gate clang shut, the dead have something to say. Here are their stories …"
"'Parent maintains suspense throughout and throws in more than a few surprises along the way to a satisfying resolution.' Publishers Weekly
Fate in plain sight.
Major Crimes Detective Samantha Reilly prefers to work alone—she’s seen as a maverick, and she still struggles privately with the death of her partner. The only person who ever sees her softer side is Michael Turcotte, a teenager she’s known since she rescued him eleven years ago from the aftermath of his parents’ murder-suicide.
In foster care since his parents’ death, Michael is a loner who tries to fly under the bullies’ radar, but a violent assault triggers a disturbing ability to view people’s dark futures. No one believes his first vision means anything, though—not even Sam Reilly. When reality mimics his prediction, however, Sam isn’t the only one to take notice. A strange girl named Tessa Masterson asks Michael about her future, and what he sees sends him back to Sam—is Tessa victim or perpetrator?
Tessa’s tangled secrets draw Michael and Sam inexorably into a deadly conflict. Sam relies on Michael, but his only advantage is the visions he never asked for. As they track a cold and calculating killer, one misstep could turn the hunters into prey."
