An innocent teenage girl sparks a psychopath's obsessive desire in this chilling tale of suspense and serial murder. Beautiful high school cheerleader Sheila Bonner has a new dress for the prom and a football-player boyfriend who's wild about her—but she can't resist another clandestine rendezvous with her hometown's handsome mayor, Henry Lee Slater. Despite her grandmother's warnings not to go off alone with him, Sheila is flattered by Slater's attentions. And when a senseless act of violence rocks her world, he is there to comfort her. Unbeknownst to his wife and constituents, Slater has silently stalked the young blonde since she came to town seven years ago as an orphan. Now he's taking steps to possess Sheila and satisfy every one of his dark desires. But how long can he keep his indiscretions hidden from the adoring public, his dutiful wife, and the cagey local police chief without spiraling further into deception and cold-blooded murder? Replete with unforgettable, vividly drawn characters and more reversals and twists than an Alfred Hitchcock film, Bad Desire is a novel of "forbidden love and serial murder that thrills from intriguing start to chilling finish" ( Publishers Weekly ).