In his turquoise eyes she saw something she had never seen before, perhaps her doom. The familiar scent of his cologne now seemed toxic, as though his body was exuding a deadly pheromone. His white hair pulled back in a tight pony tail that had once seemed fashionable, now looked greasy and cheap. His hand with the gold and diamond ring came down on the back of her neck with an unfamiliar feeling, like a buckle snapping. His other hand was crushing her throat so she couldn't scream."

"Dead Still" plunges into the arcane world of identity theft, insurance fraud, sex, and murder. A vicious killer, an unlikely hero, and a country physician are linked by coincidental events that include a near-death dogsled escape from the frozen terrain of northern Maine and a lethal chase through the treacherous caverns of Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands. In the end, it's anyone's guess who will survive .