The Day She Died

In this improbable tale of suspense from McPherson (As She Left It), heroine Jessica Constable’s chance encounter with a stranger begins a journey that makes her phobia-induced nightmares seem tame by comparison. Constable works at a charity shop in Dumfries, Scotland, and struggles with an unusual affliction: pteronophobia, the fear of feathers. In an act of kindness, she gives a ride home to a shocked and distraught customer, Gus King, who has just learned his wife, Becky, has left him. News arrives that Becky died in a car crash shortly after hitting the road, and Constable finds herself spending increasing amounts of time with Gus and his children, Ruby and Dillon. Eventually, she moves into their cottage, despite repeated warning signals that something is amiss. As in a poor slasher film, Constable ignores imminent danger until it’s almost too late. [em]Agent: Lisa Moylett, Coombs Moylett Literary Agency. (May) [/em]