'In this thrilling debut for fans of Karin Slaughter and Riley Sager, a social worker turned true-crime podcaster investigates a decades-old serial killer cold case-only to unwittingly create new victims.
'Former social worker Elle Castillo is the host of a popular true-crime podcast that tackles cold cases of missing children in her hometown. After four seasons of successful investigations, Elle decides to tackle her white whale- the Countdown Killer, or TCK.
'Twenty years ago, TCK established a pattern of taking and ritualistically murdering girls, each a year younger than the last. No one's ever known why-why he stopped abruptly with his eleven-year-old victim, or why he followed the ritual at all.
'Weeks into her new season, Elle sets out to interview a listener promising a tip, only to discover his dead body. When a child is abducted days later, in a pattern that looks very familiar, Elle is convinced TCK is back. Will she be able to get law enforcement on her side and stop TCK before it's too late?' (Publication summary)
