The Rivard House - F. Edwin Lambrith

From the floorboards to the rafters, the house reeked of Death. Josh Chronicle was a special breed of freelance investigator.

He thrived on walking a tightrope between life and death. When a series of brutal murders took place in the abandoned Rivard House on Longleaf Island, the case drew him like a magnet. But the island's twelve terrified inhabitants refused to speak about the violent history of the old mansion.

Then unusually heavy spring rains destroyed the levee, stranding Chronicle, the residents -- and the killer -- on the island. But before Chronicle could zero in on the mad slasher, the murderer zeroed in on him.