Bad Desire by Gary Devon (First Edition) ARC / Advance Reading Copy

An innocent teenage girl sparks a psychopath’s obsessive desire in this chilling tale of suspense and serial murder.Beautiful high school cheerleader Sheila Bonner has a new dress for the prom and a football-player boyfriend who’s wild about her—but she can’t resist another clandestine rendezvous with her hometown’s handsome mayor, Henry Lee Slater. Despite her grandmother’s warnings not to go off alone with him, Sheila is flattered by Slater’s attentions. And when a senseless act of violence rocks her world, he is there to comfort her.Unbeknownst to his wife and constituents, Slater has silently stalked the young blonde since she came to town seven years ago as an orphan. Now he’s taking steps to possess Sheila and satisfy every one of his dark desires. But how long can he keep his indiscretions hidden from the adoring public, his dutiful wife, and the cagey local police chief without spiraling further into deception and cold-blooded murder?Replete with unforgettable, vividly drawn characters and more reversals and twists than an Alfred Hitchcock film, Bad Desire is a novel of “forbidden love and serial murder that thrills from intriguing start to chilling finish” (Publishers Weekly).

YA-- Henry Slater, aged 42, married, and the mayor of a small California town, has loved Sheila Buchanan since she was 10; she's now 17. When Sheila's grandmother, Rachel Buchanan, threatens to reveal his infatuation to the townsfolk, Henry plots Rachel's death, even arranging for a hired killer. A bizarre accident claims the gunman's life, and Henry must commit the murder himself. All the emotions, subterfuge, and secret meetings that accompany a teen's first love and a middle-aged man's infatuation surface, heightened by Slater's overriding psychological terror of being discovered as Rachel's murderer. Characters are well drawn, from the town police chief, suspicious of Henry's involvement, to Henry's wife, who realizes her inner strength as she battles to reclaim her husband. The romance in this soft-horror tale will ensure its reading by V. C. Andrews fans.
- Pam Spencer, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Devon follows his praised first novel, Lost , with an account of forbidden love and serial murder that thrills from intriguing start to chilling finish. Wealthy, powerful Henry Slater, charismatic mayor of a Southern California town, and his wife, Faith, a devotee of charitable causes, seem pillars of righteousness. But Slater is obsessed with gorgeous high school junior Sheila Bonner. He woos her with charm and jewelry, but their time together is limited by her nosy grandmother--who is soon a murder victim, the first of several crimes that rock the community. Meanwhile, Slater's hypocrisies toward his wife and constituency multiply. This timely portrait of a respected public figure hiding a scandalous private life should strike a strong chord. Slater's tender love for Sheila, titillating but not distasteful, has elements of Humbert Humbert's infatuation with Lolita. Faith's experience of betrayal and revenge is equally stirring. But it is Devon's portrait of Slater, a man blinded by love and power, commanding sympathy even as he commits unthinkable acts, that makes this page-turner eerily believable. 40,000 first printing.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.