A Short Time to Die

By Susan Alice Bickford

In this electrifying thriller, two women from opposite sides of the country find their lives inextricably bound—by blood, by fear, and by a merciless, murderous revenge . . .

Walking home on a foggy night, Marly Shaw stops in the glare of approaching headlights. Two men step out of a pickup truck. One of them is her stepfather. A sudden, desperate chase erupts in gunshots. Both men are left dead. And a terrified girl is on the run—for the rest of her life . . .

Thirteen years later, human bones discovered in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California are linked to a mother and son from Central New York. Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Detective Vanessa Alba and her partner, Jack Wong, dive into an investigation that lures them deep into the Finger Lakes. They find a community silenced by the brutal grip of a powerful family bound by a twisted sense of blood and honor, whose dark secrets still haunt the one family member who thought she got away . . .

“Held me captive from the first page to the last. Vivid settings and strength of character kept me reading late, late into the night, to an ending I never expected.” —Taylor Stevens, New York Times bestselling author of The Informationist

“Bickford's tale of revenge, the dark reach and power of generational crime and violence, and of two brave and bright girls who become capable, fearless women is gripping, chilling, and original. Add in a keen, exacting eye for character and place that transcends ‘genre’ and A Short Time to Die is sure to stay with you for a long, long time.” — Eric Rickstad, New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Girls and Lie in Wait

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781496705952

Susan Alice Bickford

Susan Alice Bickford was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Central New York. Her passion for technology pulled her to Silicon Valley, where she became an executive at a leading technology company. She now works as an independent consultant, and continues to be fascinated by all things high tech. She splits her time between Silicon Valley and Vermont.Her first novel,A Short Time to Die, launched her career as an acclaimed writer of dark suspense. Visit her on Facebook or at www.susanalicebickford.com.

Reviews for A Short Time to Die

[readingover50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The intertwined story of two women. Vanessa Alba is a detective with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office in California. She and her partner are investigating the deaths of 2 bodies found in the local mountains. Their search leads them to Charon Springs in Central New York. The town is under the rule of the Harris crime family and their extended clan. It is while visiting Charon Springs to investigate that the detectives learn of the families activities, and of the life of Marley Shaw.

Marley's story is told in flashbacks, from the year 2000 when she is attacked by her step father and his father, to 2013 when 2 bodies are found in California. Her story is very compelling. She lives a life in fear of her step father and his family. Not behaving as the family wishes results in beatings or worse. We follow Marley as she makes plans to leave Charon Springs and get away from the Harris family.

I thought this was a really interesting book, especially the story of Marley. She is a really strong character. This book is full of strong women. Some, like Marley and Vanessa, are good. Others are pure evil. But all are strong. I was rooting for Marley the whole way through, and even though I finished a couple of days ago, I still find myself thinking about her. I would definitely recommend this for fans of crime thrillers.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[iadam-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free advance e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow!! A fantastic book with strong female characters. It grabbed me at the first sentence and didn’t let go until the very end. An amazing thrill ride. I couldn’t put it down as I anticipated what was going to happen next. Full of twists and turns, dysfunction, lawlessness, danger, and mayhem. The action and suspense never quit. The entire town of Charon Springs, New York, is terrorized and controlled by the cold-blooded Harris clan. There is incest, murder, and infighting with a constant power struggle among the members of the Harris clan who all seem to mistrust and hate each other. This is the story of how one young girl decides she is going to save herself and her family and get out any way she can. She is smart and crafty and covers her tracks very carefully. The police start investigating after bones of two Harris family members turn up in a California gulley. This is a very well written and fast paced crime thriller with exceptional character development and an amazing plot. ‘A Short Time to Die’ is a keeper and well worth the read. I look forward to reading more books by Susan Alice Bickford in the future.

[eyes92c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another sleepless night!The remains of two bodies have been washed out of the mountains (most likely the Santa Cruz Mountains) into Santa Clara County and the police are investigating. Specifically Detective Vanessa Alba and Detective Jackson Wong.The bones are four or five years old. A DNA FBI data base search confirms that the bones belong to a Louise and Troy Rasmussen, a mother and son, part of the Harris clan.Their investigations lead them back into 'them thar' hills to Charon Springs, New York, home of the clan. As the Chief of Police of Avalon says, 'the Harrises have been a malicious disease in this area for as long as [his] grandparents can remember.'The officers and we are soon caught up in the vicious entanglement of a lawless family that ruined people's lives and ruled their small bit of turf in the mountains with an unpredictable and ferocious iron fist.The central character is Marly Shaw. It's through her eyes that we become engaged with this dysfunctional community and its various layers. The action switches between past and present. Marly in her last years at high school and the present investigation by two police officers. I have to admit that I was glued to this story with its unexpected twists. Sleeping ran a bad last.A NetGalley ARC

[carol420 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found the story to be very well written, the characters to be believable and mostly likeable. Overall, it was compelling and engaging, with just enough lightness to keep me reading. It moves gradually through the past to meet the present in well-executed flips back and forth in time that are easy to follow. I read somewhere that this is the authors debut novel, but it reads as if she has been writing her entire life. Anyone that reads and enjoys mysteries will find that there are parts that are predictable, but it didn't take anything away from the enjoyment of the story. I'm looking forward to more by Susan Bickford.