Catherine Gray's life was improving by leaps and bounds. She has relocated back home to Aurora Falls from California and is living with her sister, Marissa, in their childhood home left to them both by their recently deceased mother. A local psychology practice has hired her to work with them so she build her own clientele. Best of all, she is in a relationship with the love of her life, James Eastman. She has loved James for years, but he had married the very beautiful Renee Moreau from New Orleans.

Catherine had actually attended that wedding because her father had insisted the entire family go since he had been close friends with James' father. Her mother and sister were the only two people that knew of her feelings for James at that time. However, she felt from the way Renee had looked at her at the reception that she knew how Catherine felt about James.

The marriage is over almost before it starts. In no time after moving to Aurora Falls with her new husband, Renee is having affairs with men all over town. She also isn't very discreet so it isn't long before James finds out. Renee is physically beautiful, but generally very unlikeable. That's probably why no one misses her when she suddenly disappears. James tried to find her for a while, but finally gave up and simply files for divorce.

Catherine and her sister, Marissa, drive out to a cottage belonging to the Eastman family. Catherine wants to take a look to see if it can be salvaged for James to build a house there. He hates his condo living and Catherine wants to see if she can help with that. While she and Marissa are exploring the abandoned property, Catherine falls into a cistern where she discovers a body.

The body is later identified as Renee Eastman, who has been dead for about a week. That means that she wasn't dead when she went missing and that she had only returned to Aurora Falls recently. This is just the beginning for there's a murderer loose in the town and people are dropping like flies.

Catherine's trust in James is sorely tested as more and more information comes forth and she starts to wonder if she knows him at all. However, she has loved this man for years and isn't about to simply turn her back on him. As the danger grows ever nearer, it becomes clear that the murderer also plans to put James and Catherine on the list of intended victims.

Carlene Thompson always delivers a great book. TO THE GRAVE is no exception. It is packed with plenty of suspense, romance, and interesting characters. This book claims you from the very first page and owns you by the end. There are various twists and turns that make the ending totally unexpected. TO THE GRAVE is a great book to read on a rainy autumn night curled up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate.

Book Summary

As a psychologist, Catherine Gray understands the power of first love. As a woman, she still has feelings for her first crush, James—a handsome lawyer who was trapped in a bad marriage for years. Now that Catherine has returned to Aurora Falls, and James is divorced, they can finally build a life together. But then she stumbles onto his first love—his ex-wife Renée, missing for the past three years—murdered…

Catherine is stunned. How well does she really know James? What secret destroyed his marriage—and who killed his wife? When a mysterious fire destroys the crime scene, Catherine starts looking for answers. In a portrait for a masked woman, she sees Renée’s eyes looking back at her hauntingly. And when the next victim is revealed, it becomes terrifyingly clear that an obsessed killer is on the loose—and Catherine is next in line…