Cold Black Earth — Sam Reaves

When Rachel Lindstrom fled from her rural hometown in western Illinois to join the State Department and see the world, she never expected to return with her life in tatters. But after the horrors of war and a painful divorce, the only place where she can rebuild is the town she once escaped.

At home, however, there is little comfort. Her brother, still reeling from his wife's suicide, struggles to run the family farm and handle a hell-raising son. Rachel's arrival also draws a pair of rival suitors: her brother's handsome friend and a rough-hewn sheriff's deputy who pined for her in high school. Romance is the last thing on Rachel's mind, but a little comfort would be nice -- except for the complications.

When a deranged killer escapes from a local prison, the far-flung farmsteads go on high alert -- especially when the bodies start turning up. And in a county where the miles outnumber the people, it soon becomes clear that the madman is close behind Rachel.