Therapy and Return to Duty

Detective Josie Quinn, still reeling from her grandmother Lisette's murder, struggles through therapy sessions with Dr. Paige Rosetti. Suspended from the Denton PD for months, Josie is numb, haunted by nightmares, and disconnected from her work. As her return to duty looms, she's asked to list things that make her feel out of control—a task she avoids. The city is abuzz with the disappearance of Krystal Duncan, a legal secretary and grieving mother. Josie's emotional paralysis is palpable, her grief a heavy sludge she can't escape. Her only solace is her husband Noah and their dog, Trout. The stage is set for Josie's reluctant reentry into a world that feels both familiar and alien, as she's forced to confront her pain and the demands of her profession.

Cemetery Discovery and Suspicion

While visiting her late husband's grave, Josie hears a woman's screams and discovers Krystal Duncan's body, eerily posed at her daughter's grave. The scene is chilling: Krystal appears almost alive, but her eyes are lifeless, and her lips are sealed with wax. Dee Tenney, a neighbor and fellow grieving mother, is the witness. The police descend on the cemetery, and Josie's investigative instincts awaken despite her emotional exhaustion. The case is immediately suspicious—Krystal had been missing for days, yet her body shows little decomposition. The connection to her daughter's tragic death in a bus crash two years prior, and the upcoming trial of the bus driver, adds layers of complexity and public scrutiny.

The Wax-Sealed Victim

The autopsy reveals Krystal died from carbon monoxide poisoning, her lips sealed with candle wax. The killer left a cryptic word—"Pritch"—written on her arm, hidden by rigor mortis. The method is both clinical and symbolic, suggesting a killer with a message. The wax, the public display at her daughter's grave, and the word all point to a calculated act meant to communicate something about secrets and silence. The investigation focuses on Krystal's recent behavior, her support group for parents of the bus crash victims, and her work at a law firm. The team is unsettled by the killer's precision and the emotional resonance of the crime.

Grief, Guilt, and Investigation

Josie's grief over Lisette's death mirrors the pain of the bus crash parents. She's drawn to the case, feeling a kinship with the victims' families. The investigation uncovers that Krystal was emotionally volatile, isolated, and possibly searching for something before her death. Her last days included a mysterious remote login to her law firm's database. The team interviews coworkers, friends, and support group members, uncovering a web of secrets, suppressed guilt, and unresolved trauma. Josie's own struggle with guilt and avoidance is paralleled by the parents' inability to move past their losses, setting up a thematic exploration of how grief can warp perception and behavior.

The Bus Crash Connection

The investigation reveals that all the key players—Krystal, Dee, Faye, Gloria, Nathan, and others—are connected by the West Denton bus crash, which killed five children. The support group, led by Dr. Rosetti, is a crucible of unresolved pain, blame, and suspicion. The killer's focus on the parents of the crash victims, and the symbolic staging of the bodies, suggests a motive rooted in the crash's aftermath. The word "Pritch" is revealed to be a cruel nickname for one of the deceased children, Wallace Cammack, hinting at the killer's intimate knowledge of the group's dynamics and history.

Secrets Among the Parents

As the detectives dig deeper, they uncover a tangle of secrets: affairs, drug use, financial troubles, and lies about the day of the crash. Krystal had discovered that Nathan Cammack lied about why his children and Bianca were on the bus that day, fueling her rage and despair. Faye Palazzo, another mother, is revealed to have had an affair with Corey Byrne, the father of the crash's sole child survivor. The parents' secrets are interconnected, each one a potential "if only" that could have changed the outcome of the tragedy. The killer seems to be exposing these secrets through the murders.

The Support Group Fractures

The support group, meant to be a source of healing, becomes a hotbed of suspicion and resentment. Krystal's outburst at her final meeting—accusing others and revealing her own pain—foreshadows her fate. Faye's subsequent disappearance and murder, staged similarly to Krystal's, escalates the sense of dread. The group's members are forced to confront their own roles in the tragedy and the possibility that one of them—or someone close to them—is the killer. Josie's empathy for their pain is deepened by her own struggles, blurring the line between investigator and fellow mourner.

Clues in the Community

The detectives discover a pattern of thefts in the West Denton neighborhood leading up to the crash—items missing from multiple homes, often unnoticed or unreported. Miles Tenney, Dee's estranged husband, is implicated as the likely thief, selling stolen goods through Ted Lesko, the bus driver's son. The criminal undercurrent in the community complicates the investigation, as does the involvement of organized crime syndicates seeking to collect on Miles's debts. The team must disentangle personal vendettas from the killer's symbolic acts, all while the press and public demand answers.

The Meaning of "Pritch"

The word "Pritch" is revealed to be a portmanteau of "prick" and "bitch," a nickname given to Wallace Cammack by his peers. The cruelty of children, and the failure of adults to intervene, becomes a metaphor for the larger failures that led to the bus crash. The killer's use of the nickname is a deliberate attempt to force the parents to confront their complicity—not just in the crash, but in the toxic dynamics that preceded it. The investigation into the nickname's origins exposes the group's collective guilt and the corrosive effects of unspoken blame.

The Law Firm Files

Krystal's remote access to her law firm's files is traced to Gloria Cammack's store, implicating Gloria in the murders. Krystal had discovered, through legal records, the chain of decisions and lies that led to the crash—each parent's secret a link in the fatal chain. The killer's pattern is to expose these secrets through murder, forcing the survivors to confront the "if onlys" that haunt them. The law firm files become the key to understanding both the motive and the method, as the killer uses legal and emotional evidence to construct a narrative of retribution.

The Second Mother Vanishes

Faye Palazzo is found dead, killed in the same manner as Krystal, with another child's name written on her arm. The community is thrown into panic as it becomes clear that the killer is targeting the support group members in a pattern. The detectives race to protect the remaining parents, but the killer is always one step ahead, exploiting their trust and their routines. The sense of inevitability and helplessness grows, mirroring Josie's own struggle with grief and the limits of her ability to save others.

The If Only Game

The investigation crystallizes around the "If Only Game"—the endless mental loop of regret and hypothetical alternatives that plagues the grieving parents. Each murder is staged to highlight a specific "if only" that could have prevented the crash. Josie recognizes the same pattern in her own grief over Lisette, deepening her empathy but also her desperation to stop the killer. The detectives realize that the killer is not just punishing the parents, but forcing them—and the community—to confront the unbearable weight of guilt and the futility of hindsight.

The Killer's Pattern Emerges

The detectives piece together the killer's pattern: each murder exposes a secret, each victim is chosen to maximize emotional impact, and the staging is designed to force public reckoning. The killer is revealed to be Gloria Cammack, aided by Ted Lesko. Gloria's grief has curdled into a crusade to punish those she blames for her children's deaths, including herself. The final abductions—of Dee, Heidi, and Gloria herself—are set in motion as the detectives close in, racing against time to prevent further tragedy.

The Final Abduction

Gloria kidnaps Dee and Heidi, taking them to a remote barn rigged as a death chamber. The detectives, following a trail of clues through property records and supply chains, locate the barn just in time. A tense standoff ensues, with Gloria attempting suicide and the detectives risking their lives to save the captives. The emotional and physical stakes are at their highest, as Josie must draw on every reserve of strength and empathy to prevent the cycle of grief and violence from claiming more victims.

The Barn of Secrets

In a harrowing sequence, Josie and her team break into the barn, rescuing Dee and Heidi from carbon monoxide poisoning. Gloria is apprehended after a desperate struggle, her confession revealing the full extent of her pain and her twisted logic. The barn, filled with the detritus of the parents' secrets and the killer's preparations, becomes a symbol of the community's buried guilt. The survivors are left to pick up the pieces, their lives forever altered by the confrontation with their own darkest fears.

Confrontation and Confession

In the aftermath, confessions and revelations abound. Sebastian Palazzo admits to drugging Virgil Lesko, inadvertently causing the crash. Gloria confesses to the murders, her actions a desperate attempt to make sense of senseless loss. The legal and emotional consequences ripple through the community, as the survivors grapple with forgiveness, accountability, and the possibility of healing. Josie, too, is forced to confront her own grief, finally allowing herself to feel the pain she has long suppressed.

Grief's Unbearable Weight

The novel closes with Josie in therapy, struggling to accept that grief is survivable, even when it feels like drowning. The "If Only Game" is revealed as both a trap and a path to understanding—the only way out is through. Josie's willingness to sit with her pain, to let herself feel and be changed by it, becomes a model for the other survivors. The story ends on a note of hard-won hope: grief may never fully heal, but it can be carried, and life can go on.

Characters

Josie Quinn

Josie is the emotional and investigative center of the novel, a detective whose personal losses mirror those of the victims she seeks to protect. Her relationship with grief is complex—she is both paralyzed by it and driven to action because of it. Josie's empathy for the parents of the bus crash victims is rooted in her own experience of trauma and guilt, making her both a brilliant investigator and a deeply vulnerable human being. Her journey is one of learning to accept pain, to confront the "if onlys" without being destroyed by them, and to find meaning in survival. Her relationships—with Noah, her colleagues, and her therapist—are lifelines that keep her from succumbing to despair.

Noah Fraley

Noah is Josie's husband and fellow detective, providing emotional stability and practical support. He is patient, understanding, and deeply attuned to Josie's needs, often anticipating her emotional state before she does. Noah's own history of loss gives him a unique perspective on grief, allowing him to connect with Josie in ways others cannot. He is a voice of reason and compassion, grounding Josie when her emotions threaten to overwhelm her. His investigative skills and loyalty make him an indispensable member of the team.

Gretchen Palmer

Gretchen is Josie's colleague and confidante, a seasoned detective with a dry wit and a deep well of resilience. Her own experiences with trauma and loss make her both empathetic and tough, able to support Josie while maintaining professional boundaries. Gretchen's psychological insight and investigative acumen are crucial to unraveling the case. She is unflappable in the face of danger, but her loyalty to Josie and the team is her defining trait. Her presence is a reminder that survival is possible, even after unimaginable pain.

Dee Tenney

Dee is a member of the support group and the first to discover Krystal's body. Her life has been shattered by the loss of her daughter, and her marriage has crumbled under the weight of grief. Dee's vulnerability is matched by a quiet resilience—she becomes a surrogate mother to Heidi and a symbol of the possibility of healing. Her fear and paranoia are both justified and tragic, as she becomes a target of the killer. Dee's journey is one of moving from isolation to connection, finding purpose in caring for others even as she struggles to care for herself.

Gloria Cammack

Gloria is the novel's antagonist, a mother whose pain has metastasized into a crusade of retribution. Her outward control and efficiency mask a soul in torment, unable to accept the randomness of her children's deaths. Gloria's need to assign blame leads her to expose and punish the secrets of the other parents, enlisting Ted Lesko as her accomplice. Her psychological unraveling is both horrifying and pitiable—she is a victim of her own inability to grieve, her actions a desperate attempt to make sense of senseless loss. Gloria's arc is a cautionary tale about the dangers of unprocessed pain.

Ted Lesko

Ted is the son of the bus driver and Gloria's co-conspirator. Marked by a history of criminal behavior and social alienation, Ted is both a manipulator and a pawn. His relationship with Gloria is transactional, rooted in mutual need and shared resentment. Ted's actions are driven by a desire for belonging and significance, but his inability to form healthy connections makes him susceptible to Gloria's influence. His ultimate fate is a grim reminder of the collateral damage wrought by cycles of trauma and revenge.

Faye Palazzo

Faye is another member of the support group, outwardly composed but inwardly shattered by her son's death. Her affair with Corey Byrne is a symptom of her need for escape and affirmation, but it also becomes a fatal secret. Faye's murder is both a punishment and a message, her body staged to expose the group's hidden wounds. Faye's character embodies the tension between appearance and reality, the ways in which grief can drive people to desperate acts.

Sebastian Palazzo

Sebastian is Faye's husband, a man whose love for his wife borders on obsession. His discovery of her affair and his subsequent decision to drug Virgil Lesko set in motion the chain of events that led to the bus crash. Sebastian's guilt and denial are profound—he is both a victim and a perpetrator, unable to reconcile his actions with his self-image. His psychological unraveling mirrors Gloria's, but his violence is turned inward, culminating in a suicide attempt rather than a campaign of murder.

Heidi Byrne

Heidi is the only child to survive the bus crash, left adrift by her father's emotional absence. She finds solace and purpose in her relationship with Dee, becoming both a witness and a participant in the unfolding drama. Heidi's resourcefulness and courage are crucial to the resolution of the case, as she helps the detectives piece together the killer's pattern. Her journey is one of reclaiming agency and connection in the aftermath of trauma.

Miles Tenney

Miles is Dee's estranged husband, whose criminal activities and financial ruin are a hidden cancer in the community. His thefts set off the chain of "if onlys" that led to the crash, and his eventual murder by organized crime syndicates is both a consequence and a distraction. Miles is a study in the ways that personal failings can have far-reaching, unintended consequences, and his absence is felt as keenly as his presence.

Plot Devices

The "If Only" Game

The novel's central device is the "If Only Game"—the endless mental loop of regret and hypothetical alternatives that plagues the grieving parents. Each murder is staged to highlight a specific "if only" that could have prevented the crash, forcing the survivors to confront their own complicity and the futility of hindsight. This device is both a structural and thematic engine, driving the plot and deepening the psychological resonance. It is mirrored in Josie's own struggle with grief, making the investigation as much an internal journey as an external one.

Symbolic Staging and Clues

The killer's use of wax, cryptic words, and public staging transforms each murder into a message. The clues are not just forensic but emotional, designed to expose secrets and force reckonings. The use of childhood nicknames, personal items, and the victims' own routines creates a sense of intimacy and inevitability, as if the killer is both judge and confessor. This device heightens suspense and invites the reader to play detective alongside Josie.

Interwoven Timelines and Perspectives

The narrative weaves together the present-day investigation with flashbacks to the day of the bus crash, as well as glimpses into the inner lives of the parents. This structure allows for gradual revelation of secrets and motives, building tension and empathy. The shifting perspectives also underscore the theme of interconnectedness—no one's actions are isolated, and every decision reverberates through the community.

Therapy as Framing Device

Josie's therapy sessions with Dr. Rosetti serve as both a narrative frame and a means of exploring the novel's psychological themes. The sessions provide insight into Josie's internal struggles, mirror the group therapy of the parents, and offer a space for reflection and growth. The therapy device grounds the procedural elements in emotional realism, making the resolution as much about healing as about justice.

Red Herrings and Misdirection

The investigation is complicated by a web of red herrings—organized crime, neighborhood thefts, personal vendettas, and overlapping secrets. The detectives (and the reader) are repeatedly led down false paths, heightening suspense and emphasizing the complexity of guilt and blame. The ultimate revelation of Gloria as the killer is both surprising and inevitable, a testament to the narrative's careful misdirection.

Analysis

Her Deadly Touch is a masterful exploration of grief, guilt, and the destructive power of secrets, wrapped in the taut structure of a crime thriller. Lisa Regan uses the procedural framework not just to deliver suspense, but to probe the psychological wounds left by tragedy. The novel's central insight is that trauma is never isolated—every loss ripples outward, entangling families, communities, and even those tasked with seeking justice. The "If Only Game" is both a narrative engine and a cautionary tale, illustrating how the search for meaning in senseless loss can become a trap. The killer's campaign of exposure and retribution is a dark mirror of the survivors' own self-punishment, forcing them to confront the futility of blame and the necessity of acceptance. Josie's journey—from avoidance to vulnerability, from numbness to feeling—is emblematic of the novel's ultimate message: grief is survivable, but only if we allow ourselves to feel it, to share it, and to move forward despite it. The story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the dangers of unprocessed pain, and the redemptive power of connection.

Last updated: January 18, 2026