Nora Roberts， bestselling author of The Reef and Genuine Lies， mixes scorching passion with icy suspense in her classic novel of murder and infatuation in a southern town--now available in hardcover for the first time.In the small town of Innocence， Mississippi， days are long， nights are fragrant， and secrets are hard to keep. But when a brutal killer starts claiming the lives of the town s most attractive women， lifelong neighbors are forced to wonder if the culprit is a stranger lurking in the bayou...or someone right next door.World-famous concert violinist Caroline Waverly knows nothing of the murders when she arrives in Innocence. Burned out from a childhood lost to endless rehearsals and an all-too-public breakup with the conductor who was her lover， Caroline is looking for a little peace and some time to think. She hopes that a stay at her late grandmother s house--the one with a covered porch just made for soft summer nights--will provide the tranquillity she needs. But Innocence has something else to offer Caroline: a man named Tucker Longstreet.Blessed with the Longstreet good looks， lazy charm， and family fortune， Tucker is a tall， cool drink of water--and he knows it. He likes to keep his romances short and shallow. But one look at Caroline， and Tucker realizes that she is unlike any other woman he s met. Tightly coiled and coolly reserved， Caroline is determined to fight him off. She might be able to do a better job if she hadn t felt an unexpected thrill at his ardent advances...and if she hadn t been so scared after finding a third murder victim in the murky waters behind her home.For Caroline Waverly， a beautiful summer interlude could turn into much more--or could stir a killer s crazed dreams. Because there s just one small problem with her new romance: Tucker is the leading suspect in the killings.