Rafferty Family

When Liv Dugan ducks out of work for lunch, it's just an ordinary day. When she returns, she stumbles onto a massacre. All her colleagues at Zuma Software have been shot. Only luck has left Liv unscathed, and that might be running out....

Detective September Rafferty - Nine to her friends - recognizes the artwork that arrives in the mail. She created it back in second grade. Now a killer's words are slashed across it in what looks like blood. He knows her. September's investigation leads to her old classmate, Jake Westerly. She wants to believe Jake is innocent. But trusting anyone could be her last mistake....

She senses their twisted desires before she meets them. It's as if fate is helping her stop these monsters from preying on others the way she was preyed upon. And after she has delivered brutal justice, she'll let the whole world see their guilt.

The branding iron glows in the moonlight as he presses the searing metal into his victim's flesh. She must wear the devil's sign, just like the others. He knows the curse that afflicts them - and he'll make sure they carry it to their graves....

It's the ultimate test of strategy and skill. The killer chooses each opponent carefully, learning each one's weaknesses. Every meticulously planned move is leading to a devastating checkmate. Because in this game, all the pretty pawns must die.