Blackbirds

In this horror-tinged adventure, Wendig (Double Dead) plays with the concepts of predestination and free will. Miriam Black, cursed to know the destined death of anyone she touches, has resigned herself to acting as an agent of fate, facilitating deaths and looting the bodies left in her wake. Then she meets trucker Louis Darling and discovers that she’ll be present at his murder in the near future. In a rare attempt to defy destiny, she abandons Louis, only to end up as the unwilling accomplice of con man Ashley Gaines. This brings her back into contact with Louis, and gets the attention of a merciless band of murderous criminals who prove that although Miriam can see the future, it’s near-impossible to change it. Visceral and often brutal, this tale vibrates with emotional rawness that helps to paint a bleak, unrelenting picture of life on the edge. Agent: Stacia Decker, Donald Maass Literary Agency. (May)