The Enchanted Isle

Book excerpt: While searching for her real father, a runaway stumbles into a deadly mess in this gritty noir novel by the author of The Postman Always Rings Twice. With just seventy-four bucks in her pocket, Mandy packs her things and buys the bus ticket that will get her away from the stepfather who’s been abusing her for years—and the mother who lets it happen. She plans to head to Baltimore and find her biological father—someone she hopes will finally stand up for her. At the bus stop, Mandy meets Rick—a handsome young thug who’s a few days removed from his last bath. He’s charming and sympathetic, so she buys him a ticket and tells him her story. But wouldn’t it be better, Rick suggests, to greet Daddy in style? Of course, a mink coat would cost a little money, but Rick knows just where to get it. His plan is daring, foolish, and highly dangerous. What teenage runaway could resist? Praise for James M. Cain’s fiction “Cleverly plotted.” —The New York Times “Swift and absorbing.” —The Wall Street Journal