Wren Delacroix

Can an FBI Academy dropout catch a vicious serial killer?It's been fifteen years since Vivian Delacroix unleashed her followers on the town of Cardinal Falls. The cult members killed anyone Vivian told them was a threat to their beliefs.Now, another killer takes young girls of nine or ten, all related to Vivian's original victims. He drugs them, suffocates them, and painstakingly arranges them in ritualistic poses. The bodies give up no evidence to the killer's identity.When Wren Delacroix happens upon the latest victim, she's forced to admit to herself that she came back to her home town because of her interest in this case. These dead girls, they remind her of things long buried from her own childhood. And when she sees a certain man lurking at the edges of the crime scene, her past smacks her in the face like a cresting wave of disquiet. Even though she dropped out of the FBI Academy and tried to flee from the dark parts of herself, she can't run away.Before she knows what she's doing, she's spouting her fully formed profile of the killer to Detective Caius Reilly, head of the tri-state task force, and she's begging him to let her help.She needs to solve this case and stop this killer.If only to prove to herself that she's nothing like her mother Vivian.For fans of Anne Frasier or Chelsea Cain.

Months have passed since the events in the woods behind the compound, and with no new cases, the task force might be shut down. Wren Delacroix could leave town, but she lingers, even without any work.And then, there's a report from a local hospital of a possible angel of death serial killer and the questionable deaths of a number of elderly patients. Wren and Reilly begin interviewing nurses. There's a strong possibility this killer is female, and she may be nearly impossible to catch.But it seems that nothing in Cardinal Falls can escape the reach of the Fellowship or the shadow of the Crimson Ram. Soon, the two find themselves delving into the past, to the crime over a decade ago at "the tower," where one madman claims serial killers were birthed in blood.And what was born in Wren herself back then? The deeper she digs, the more she fears that she'll unearth unchecked violence within herself. After everything she's been through lately, she's… changed. Harder. Angrier.Outside, it's frozen February. Inside, it's hot turmoil.

When Wren Delacroix and Detective Caius Reilly investigate a new crime scene, they're surprised to discover the killer has left a personal note, addressed directly to Reilly. As they unravel its cryptic message, they are led down a twisty road to reveal secrets about Reilly's past and about his mother, a victim of the serial killer Mark Quentin Rhoads.This new killer means business. He's vicious. He's smart. He's brutal.He's playing a game with them.But only he knows the rules.

Wren and Reilly track the Quarantine Killer…On March 26, 2020, Sarah James hears a noise in her apartment. She lives alone, and she's easily frightened. With the current state of the country, she's harried. She goes through and checks each room, telling herself she's overreacting.But she's not alone.These will be her last moments on earth.With the entire state on lockdown, and no one leaving their homes for anything except essential activities, it is weeks before Sarah's body is discovered, lots of time for the newly minted Quarantine Killer to have struck again.Wren Delacroix and Caius Reilly are working from home, going stir crazy without access to decent coffee. They're happy enough to have a case to solve.Then the bodies start to pile up. Then the killer taunts them with his flagrant disregard for anything but his own twisted appetites. Now they have to do whatever they can to stop him.

It's sticky and hot outside, and Wren Delacroix and Caius Reilly are bored. Ever since Hawk Marner's appeal cast doubt on their ethics, it's been crickets from police departments who want their help. With nothing to do but wait for the appeal, the two decide they could use a distraction. An FBI agent staying the facility that houses their new offices is trying to crack something in Northern California that could be a set of cult killings. They don't really investigate cult killings. But it could be a serial killer. Or, it could be nothing at all. There are no bodies. There are just six couples who have all disappeared after frequenting an outreach program called Love Over Want. It's not really their kind of thing, but… well, they are bored.

Hawk Marner has been murdered.Wren Delacroix and Caius Reilly would be celebrating if it weren't for the fact that they're the main suspects for the crime.They weren't together that night.Though both of them maintain their innocence, neither of them quite believes the other. It's not as if they haven't talked about killing him before. It's not as if Hawk didn't deserve it.But with the due date for the birth of their new daughter looming, they decide to give each other the benefit of the doubt and look for other suspects. Unofficially, of course. Their connections to Hawk mean they're not allowed to investigate the case in any official capacity.It feels good to have a case again.But their lack of trust for each other erodes everything they are.And with the baby coming soon, they need to rely on each other now more than ever.

Wren Delacroix and Caius Reilly lost their cushy FBI jobs nine months ago when their task force was shuttered.Which is fine.They're resourceful people. Reilly is currently working for the Cardinal Falls Police Department, and Wren is doing YouTube videos about cults while staying home with their daughter, three-year-old Jasmine.Everything is fine. And they can't stop insisting that. Because, after all, it is. Fine.But they don't call Cardinal Falls the serial killer capital of the world for nothing. It's hardly a surprise when the CFPD catches a case. The killer is slaughtering couples in their homes.It's like a spark lights up between Wren and Reilly, a spark that quickly kindles into a blaze. Working this case reminds them of who they are and why they're special.They're going to solve this case.And then, they're going to find a way to be better than fine.