The Vanishing — Bentley Little

With his novels, “Bentley Little has created nothing less than a nightmarishly brilliant tour de force of modern life in America.” -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In Beverly Hills, a wealthy CEO goes on a bloody rampage and videotapes the slaughter. He leaves behind a chilling cryptic message...“This is where it begins.”
 
Miles away, an alarmed mother receives an unsettling letter from her estranged husband, stained with bloody fingerprints.
 
And all across California, children are becoming affected by a monstrous change -- and their parents, by a mounting fear.
 
Social worker Carrie Daniels and reporter Brian Howells are determined to find the link between these baffling crimes. But they shouldn't look too deeply into the lives of the victims. It's quite dark there. And God help them, they won't like what they find.