Authors: Michael Kardos

Before He Finds Her (43 page)

I couldn’t imagine a better team than agent Jody Kahn and editor Otto Penzler; I am incredibly grateful to them and routinely amazed. My sincere thanks to those who read the novel in manuscript form and helped to make it better: Catherine Pierce (a.k.a. Katie), Felice Kardos, Michael Piafsky, Christopher Coake, and Sarah Reeder. Thanks to Captain Ron Albence (Ret.) and Sergeant Laura Hines Roberson for their help with police procedure, and to Julie Kardos, Stephen Kardos, and Tracey McKinnon for guiding me through hospital logistics. Any mistakes are mine, though any mistakes will invariably be dismissed with a coy smile and an utterance about artistic license. I am thankful for the marvelous support and camaraderie of the faculty, students, and administrators at Mississippi State University. Thanks to Carl Pierce for his immense generosity in allowing his town of Rehoboth, Delaware—where much of this book was written—to become ours, and thanks to John and Judy Rioux for my table at Gallery Espresso. Finally, one more thanks to Katie, whom I couldn’t have done this without and wouldn’t have wanted to.

About this Book

She’s only alive because he thinks she’s already dead…

Everyone in the quiet Jersey Shore town of Silver Bay knows the story: on a Sunday evening in September 1991, Ramsey Miller threw a block party, then murdered his beautiful wife and three-year-old daughter and disappeared.

But everyone is wrong. Ramsey’s daughter got away. Meg, now known as Melanie, has lived in isolation, protected from her past by her adoptive aunt and uncle. Now she is nearly eighteen and sick of hiding. Melanie’s determined to confront her father, but can she find him before he finds her?

Reviews

‘Brilliant.
Before He Finds Her
is one of the most innovative and compelling thrillers to come along in recent years. Read the first page and kiss the next 24 hours goodbye. Bravo!’
Jeffery Deaver

‘
Before He Finds Her
is that rare thing, a novel as human as it is suspenseful, as patient as it is thrilling, as genuine as it is surprising. With strong, compelling prose, Michael Kardos paints a tale of fear and redemption, of anguish and hopefulness, of subtle corruption and good intentions gone awry. In doing so, he maps the human heart in all its complex glory.’
Gregg Hurwitz

About the Author

M
ICHAEL
K
ARDOS
is the author of the award-winning story collection, One Last Good Time and the novel The Three-Day Affair. He currently co-directs the creative writing program at Mississippi State University.

Visit Michael’s blog
www.michaelkardos.wordpress.com
or connect with him on Twitter:
@michael_kardos

Also by this Author

The Three Day Affair

They are life long friends. Their lives are routine, even boring. But that is about to change.

Will, Jeffrey and Nolan have been friends since college. Their lives are normal, even boring. Until one shocking moment changes everything.

One night, in a moment of madness, Jeffrey robs a convenience store and drags the only witness into Will’s car. Before they know it, Will, Jeffrey and Nolan are holding a young girl hostage, with no idea what to do next. They have three days to decide her fate. Three days to choose between right and wrong, prison and freedom. Three days to manipulate each other into a unanimous decision.

These ordinary men are already guilty of abduction and robbery. What else are they capable of?

The Three Day Affair
is available
here
.

A Letter from the Publisher

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The story starts here.

First published in 2015 by Mysterious Press, an imprint of Grove/Atlantic, New York.

This edition first published in the UK in 2015 by Head of Zeus Ltd.

Jacket images: Shutterstock.com
Author photograph: Megan Bean

The moral right of Michael Kardos to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

U.S. Marshals Service seal on page 93 used by permission of the U.S. Marshals service.

9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN (HB): 9781784082482
ISBN (TPB): 9781784082499
ISBN (E): 9781784082475

Head of Zeus Ltd,
Clerkenwell House,
45-47 Clerkenwell Green,
London, EC1R 0HT

Contents