Secrets to the Grave

<b>For the first time in trade paperback, #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Tami Hoag's second thriller in the Oak Knoll microseries, exploring the early days of forensic investigation, the characteristics of innocence—and the nature of evil.</b><br><br>Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.<br><br>When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See-No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, "My daddy hurt my mommy."<br><br>Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough⁠—she's a newlywed and a part-time student in child psychology, plus she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.<br><br>As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.