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 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 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.