Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list. Short on time to find evidence proving the killer’s identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it’s time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend and the other bad boy in her life....

As a killing spree continues unabated, it becomes clear to Maggie O’Dell - the FBI profiler assigned to the case - that more than one perpetrator is responsible. As she begins to drill down into the facts, Maggie discovers a disturbing Internet role-playing game for youths who have been victims of male authority figures - including Catholic priests. With this first real lead in the investigation, Maggie wonders if this group has turned cyberspace justice into reality by dispensing their own brand of vengeance. Finally, she finds a second lead - one that leaves her stunned.

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.