When She Was Bad — Ron Faust

Chantal is the ultimate femme fatale, the deadly siren of every man's dreams and nightmares. A ruthless -- and beautiful -- black widow, she seduces and destroys those around her. To her lover, Dan Stark, she promises paradise and more. But as her web descends, he must decide his role -- one of her victims . . . or her killer.


Christine Terry is rescued after spending 19 days in the Caribbean on a life raft, then mysteriously escapes from the hospital before she can be questioned about the wreck and disappearance of the yacht she was on -- and its owners. Cynical but likable reporter Dan Stark is suspicious but obsessed, and soon finds that she is absolutely nothing that she pretends to be. He agrees to help her retrieve a fortune in stolen emeralds from the sunken boat, but when she abandons him on an empty atoll, he vows revenge. Soon, like Chantal (her real name), he learns to change himself and his appearance to fit the situations he meets in pursuit of her. After more than one dangerous engagement with her over the next several years, he discovers a much more personal reason for tracking her down to a final confrontation. . . .


“Told in simple, unembellished prose, the story grips and entices, eventually leading to a smashing denouement.”

-- Library Journal


“A writer of enormous talent, a stylist to admire and a storyteller of great power.”

  -- Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent


“Faust writes beautifully . . . he reminds you of Hemingway and Peter Matthiessen. . . . Faust has it all: lyrical prose, complex characters and provocative plots.”

-- Booklist


“Faust's clear, unadorned prose and his deft, pure characterization ring with the force of Hemingway or Graham Greene.”

-- Publishers Weekly


Ron Faust was the award-winning author of 15 novels, all thrillers, including the bestseller In the Forest of the Night. Many of his novels have been optioned for film. He died in 2011.