The town of Burning Lake, New York, holds a grim secret. In 1712, three innocent young women were executed as witches. Now the commercial district is full of New Age boutiques selling everything from crystals to Ouija boards, and the annual Halloween festival attracts tourists from around the world.
It also attracts evil.
Natalie Lockhart's childhood dream was to become a police officer like her beloved father. Now she's a rookie detective, assigned to a series of cold cases called the Missing Nine. She loves her job, she’s living with her boyfriend of three years, and her life is everything she'd ever hoped it would be.
But then her boyfriend breaks up with her, and she stumbles upon a horrific new case―the brutal stabbing murder of her sister's best friend. Determined to follow the clues wherever they lead her, Natalie uncovers one shocking event after another, until she comes face-to-face with the unimaginably dark forces at work behind these seemingly unrelated tragedies.
Don't miss this gritty, thrilling series involving black magic, forbidden love, betrayal, and a string of horrific serial killings deep in the woods of an idyllic upstate town, where Natalie risks everything to save the ones she loves.
There’s something wicked in Burning Lake…
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
Lisa Regan, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
"Natalie Lockhart is flawed, tenacious, and a total bada$$. Just exactly how we like our heroines. Keeps you guessing until the end. These twisted & gripping mysteries in the town of Burning Lake will leave you breathless."
J.D. Barker, international bestselling author of The Fourth Monkey
"Witchcraft, a brutal murder, and secrets buried in a sleepy town’s past… with Trace of Evil, Blanchard expertly weaves mystery and spine-tingling suspense into a tense, nail-biter of a thriller!"
Associated Press, Oline H. Cogdill
“Witchcraft—both historical and current— becomes a gripping metaphor for how violence can continue to permeate a community for decades. Blanchard masterfully weaves in history and contemporary issues as she explores how the tragedy of a community and a family are intertwined."
Mystery and Suspense Magazine
"Blanchard is a superb storyteller who provides compelling characters, a fantastic plot, and gripping scenes... kept me fully engaged from the beginning to the end."
Boston Herald
“Grade: A.”
Criminal Element
“Blanchard is an impeccable stylist… This twisty and terrifying thriller has something for just about everyone.”
STANDALONE MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS
An exquisitely dark psychological thriller about Kate Wolfe, a child psychiatrist who thinks she’s outrun her past. But when one of her troubled young patients reveals details of Kate’s life she couldn’t possibly know, her carefully crafted world comes crashing down around her as she is stalked by a sinister presence.
“One of the most memorable villains since Hannibal Lecter.” — WSJ "For readers of Patricia Cornwell’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta novels." ― Booklist “As close to perfect as it can be in the thriller genre.” ― Cemetery Dance "Completely engrossing." ― The Crime Review
A chilling mystery about a female detective who suspects that her brother is a child killer—or else another victim of the grisly serial murders that have haunted the town of Flowering Dogwood, Maine for decades.
“Deeply scary.” — The New York Times “Sexy, sensual… gives you a serious case of the shivers.” — Mademoiselle "A first-rate shocker." ― Wall Street Journal "Heartrending suspense." ― People Magazine "Mesmerizing." ― Los Angeles Times
When Police Chief Charlie Grover finds three mutilated corpses inside a tornado-ravaged farmhouse, he believes the victims were impaled by flying debris. But soon the evidence tells him that a far more dangerous game is being played. An action-packed thriller about a killer tornado... and the human monster hidden within.
Winner of the New York Times Notable Books Official Selection of the NBC Today Book Club “Brilliant.” — New York Daily News “Blanchard delivers a knockout blow.” — San Jose Mercury News “Nothing could have prepared us for the howling horrors of this gale-force thriller. She writes so well that she rattles the rafters.” ― Marilyn Stasio, NYT “A heart-pounding, highly literary novel full of stunning art and science." ― Chicago Tribune
A female scientist teams up with a Los Angeles detective to find her missing sister, who just might be pregnant with a serial killer’s child.
“Blanchard ratchets up the suspense.” — Denver Post “A creepy and intense thriller.” — Romantic Times “You’ll love Detective Jack Makowski who weeps when he hears Roy Orbison sing Pretty Woman.” — The Guardian Unlimited "Action-packed drama and believable, believably conflicted characters.” Publisher's Weekly