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In this exhilarating thriller inspired by real-life serial killer Ted Bundy, FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix faces off against a charming, merciless serial killer.

In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another, from her car at a stoplight. A mother is ripped from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI´s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin.

Caitlin´s unit discovers the first victim´s body in the woods, laid out in a bloodstained white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest´s darkness. Around the bodies, Polaroid photos are stuck in the earth like headstones, picturing other women with their wrists slashed. The women in the woods are not the killer´s first victims, nor are they likely to be his last.

To track the UNSUB, Caitlin must get inside his mind; he is a confident, meticulous killer, capable of charming his victims until their guard is down, snatching them in plain sight. He then plays out a twisted fantasy-turning them into dolls for him to possess, control, and ultimately destroy. Caitlin´s profile leads the FBI to focus on one man: a charismatic, successful professional who easily gains people´s trust. But can they apprehend him before it´s too late? As Saturday night approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims his next victim.

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Praise for Into the Black Nowhere

"Excellent. You know the drill, bookstore near you. Buy now, thank me later."-Stephen King

"Chilling new cases to dive into on a long winter´s night."-Bookpage

"With a plot that moves at a breathless pace and a heroine with a history of her own issues, Gardiner´s gripping nail-biter will please fans of Alex Kava, Tami Hoag and even Thomas Harris´ Hannibal Lechter novels. Be ready for requests."-Booklist

One of "The Most Anticipated Crime, Mystery, and Thriller Titles of 2018...a fast paced thriller that also functions as a travel guide, with mouth-watering descriptions of taco stands providing relief from stomach-churning crime scenes."-LitHub

"Gardiner once again does serial killing to a turn."-Kirkus Reviews

"Excellent...Gardiner expertly integrates the FBI science of profiling with a suspenseful plot and believable characters. It´s no wonder a TV drama based on this series is in the works at CBS."-Publishers Weekly

"Riveting...[Caitlin Hendrix] is a strong female character who is never the victim, and that is rare in this genre."-Associated Press

"Gardiner skillfully builds tension as the pace accelerates toward the most dramatic, exhausting, and satisfying ending I´ve read in quite some time. Woman power, y´all."-Lone Star Literary Life

"Gardiner, who has 13 well-received titles to her name, including Edgar Award winner China Lake, has turned in another winner with Into the Black Nowhere. Crime-thriller fans appreciate her compelling, well-developed characters-both good and bad- her sense of plot, her master of heart-stopping twists, and her pace, which is TV-ready, as her recent accomplishment shows, combine to create a rollercoaster of a reading ride."-The Florida Times-Union

"Robust character study mixed with an engrossing police procedural...Gardiner knows how to push the terrifying envelope."-Oline Cogdill, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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MEG GARDINER is the author of thirteen critically acclaimed novels, including UNSUB and China Lake, which won the Edgar Award. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, she lives in Austin, Texas.

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