Cruelty's
Daughter
by
Anna Willett
Genre:
Thriller, Suspense
When
a young girl is abducted by a notorious serial killer, a woman risks
her own life trying to save her.
Mina
is struggling to come to terms with her past. Having led a reclusive
life, shunning
human contact,
she decides to take on a local college course to help get her life
back on track.
However,
when a young girl who tries to befriend her is abducted
by a serial killer,
Mina feels responsible. She refused to wait with the girl for her
mother to pick her up. And she shrugged off the youngster’s
fears.
Now
Mina cannot rest until she finds out what happened. But as she probes
into the events of that evening, her own nightmares
start to return.
She has put herself in danger, one that leads to an increasingly
tense standoff with a cruel and vicious man who will stop at
nothing.
Can
she find the strength to stand up to her demons, past and present?
And will she do so, even if it means risking
everything?
CRUELTY’S
DAUGHTER is the fifth novel by best-selling Australian author, Anna
Willett. She writes in the thriller genre, with a touch of horror.
Her books explore how women react to difficult situations. The books
are full of tension, physical and psychological, and they are
difficult to put down.
Goodreads
* Amazon
The flap on the back of the mailbox clanked open. The box
was not as overflowing as she’d expected. Reclusive
behaviour has its advantages, she thought, flicking her tongue over her
suddenly dry mouth. Glancing around, she was struck by how silent the street
seemed. In the windows, lights flickering behind closed curtains and blinds
were the only sign of life. With the stack clutched to her chest, Mina turned
and hurried up the path.
A glass-rattling clang
echoed and the front door slammed behind her. Another envelope, identical to
the last. The same rich texture and
an odour. She tried to identify it but all that came to mind was polish of some
sort, maybe wax. Had the smell been on the first note? Mina dropped the packet
on the table and sat.
It wasn’t over.
How had she ever convinced herself it was?
She let out a long breath, surprised at how laboured it
sounded. I could throw it away. If I
don’t look, I won’t have to know. Her mind raced through possible
scenarios. Maybe this time the Magician
would give details. A location. Mina pulled her hair over her right
shoulder and twisted it around her hand.
She picked up the envelope and tore it open. Once more, a
single sheet of paper, thick and grainy. Before unfolding it, she shook the
envelope and a second penguin clip tumbled out. A soft noise somewhere between
a sigh and a gasp escaped her lips. The clip bounced on the table and then lay
still. Mina had the urge to sweep the little plastic clip to the floor and
crush it under her foot. Instead, she unfolded the paper.
This time the message was longer, but no less disturbing.
The gift that keeps on giving.
The large sloping letters were unmistakably written by
the same person. Mina stared at the words trying to see more than what appeared
on the page. What does he mean? And
more importantly, where is this going?
Six words. Enough to send a trail of sweat running down
her spine.
She put the page on the table alongside the clip and
focused on one word, keeps. Did that
mean Andrea was still alive? Maybe he was trying to tell her something? But why
her? In movies, the killer often sent taunting notes to the police or the hero.
But this was no movie and she was as far from a hero as a woman could be.
The light drained out of the day, reflecting darkness
into the kitchen. She had the eerie sensation of being watched: someone hiding
outside the house, peering in the windows. She had the urge to turn and look
out of the kitchen window, but the fear that she might actually see a face
pressed against the glass kept her from looking over her shoulder. She needed
light to chase the shadows away.
Half out of her chair, the shrieking of her phone
erupted. The noise was so shocking in the darkening room that Mina slapped her
palm on the table in surprise. The phone was on the counter where she’d left it
after Lee had called. She stood on numb legs and reached for it, keeping her
eyes off the window.
Anna
Willett is the author of Backwoods Ripper, Retribution Ridge as well
as the bestselling, Unwelcome Guests and the tense new psychological
thriller, Forgotten Crimes. Raised in Western Australia, Anna
developed a love for fiction at an early age and began writing short
stories in high school. Drawn to dark tales, Anna enjoys writing
thrillers with strong female characters. When she's not writing, Anna
loves reading, travelling and spending time with her husband,
children and dogs.
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