Megan E Abbott

Kit Owens harbored only modest ambitions for herself when the mysterious Diane Fleming appeared in her high school chemistry class. But Diane's academic brilliance lit a fire in Kit, and the two developed an unlikely friendship... until Diane shared a secret that changed everything between them. More than a decade later, Kit thinks she's put Diane behind her forever, and she's begun to fulfill the scientific dreams Diane awakened in her. But the past...

"The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community. The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hocky star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie's best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak...

After a suspicious suicide, the members of a high school cheerleading squad, along with their new, perfectly cool coach, Colette French, are drawn into the investigation.

"Los Angeles in the late 1940s is a city of promise and prosperity, but not for former fighter pilot Dix Steele. To his mind nothing has come close to matching 'that feeling of power and exhilaration and freedom that came with loneness in the sky.' He prowls the foggy city night -- Ưbus stops and stretches of darkened beaches and movie houses just emptying out -- seeking solitary young women. His funds are running out and his frustrations are growing....

"A newly commissioned anthology of seventeen superbly crafted stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper"--Dust jacket.