Böcker av Rusty Bradshaw

Curtis Herden has seen plenty of traumatic events in his first seven years of life. His father died in a drill rig accident, his mother, Bonnie, was briefly jailed for the murder of his stepfather and he watched a man who was harassing his mother get shot to death in a parking lot. After all that, Bonnie decided, with the urging of the sheriff and her attorney, they needed to leave their Southeast Wyoming home and to start a new life in a small town in Central Nebraska. Though he struggled to make friends, and was tormented by one particular bully, Curtis thrived in school and set his sights on being a farmer. One summer he met a girl his own age and they became best friends. With her encouragement, he came further out of the protective shell he had constructed around himself. However, when Mary disappears late one night the community's suspicion falls on Curtis.

Stephanie Wallis was living a blissful life, from her perspective. She had two loving parents, was a good student and enjoyed school, and, despite her parents struggling financially, had much of what she needed and wanted. The family had changed locations often, but she was able to adjust well each time.But just when things seemed to be settling down, everything changed and turned her world upside down, altering her life in ways she could not imagine.Her mother, Cynthia, suddenly packed her up and left her father, Nathan. Relocating to another state, Stephanie had barely started attendance at a new school when she was abducted and whisked away to yet another state by a man on a misguided mission.With the help of his wilderness guide brother, Bryan; FBI agent Susan Blastmore; sheriff's deputy Dawn Barnes; and other law enforcement personnel, Nathan goes on a search in the Idaho mountains to find and retrieve his daughter. Their efforts are complicated by a controlling in-law and a band of mercenaries.

Small-town judgment can be brutal, as Sherry Dyke, a high school student, finds out after she is date-raped, becomes pregnant as a result, and makes a difficult decision. The family moves to another state to avoid the harassment and begin to rebuild their lives. They win over their new communities, including Sherry finding love.But when the man who raped her shows up, the harassment begins anew until Sherry is brutally raped again and beaten. Sherry survives her injuries, and she and her family seek justice through the court system but are disappointed.Sherry's tragic story is contrasted by the beauty of the setting-the Columbia River Gorge, which separates the states of Oregon and Washington-and the manner in which she finally gets justice.

Following their high school graduation, three friends go on one last camping trip together before life takes them in separate directions. After setting up camp, Billy discovers a church camp on the other side of the lake. A camp that is filled with girls from another state. The three friends are intrigued and decide to study the camp. In the process, Billy and Steve meet a cabin full of the girls and enjoy a night of sex with them. That first secret meeting leads to more clandestine encounters. While Billy, working through a romantic breakup and indecision about his future, plays the field with a number of girls, Steve and Tony are monogamous and begin to develop feelings for their partners. One of the girls, a camp counselor, who has enjoyed Billy's company, begins to develop feelings of her own for him. In a late-night search for the boys' camp, she falls into a cave and is gravely injured. The three friends rescue her, but in the process, their liaisons with the girls are discovered and they must face the consequences.

After years of abuse and bullying from schoolmates, her parents, and most of her siblings, Vicki Little falls into a routine of poor hygiene and appearance and believes her tormentors' opinions that she is unworthy of their love and respect. Her only positive outlets are a focus on her education and the encouragement of her only supporter-her younger brother, Alex. Vicki believes she has found an escape when she enrolls in college in another state. Unfortunately, the players may have changed, but the game is the same. One day on campus, she sees Andy Thompson and then another chance meeting where he watches Vicki being bullied by her main tormentor, a self-absorbed, controlling woman named Sheila with a disturbing secret. Andy follows Vicki home and introduces himself. They become friends, and he takes her under his wing, buying her new clothes and teaching her to improve her appearance and how to gain self-confidence. He introduces her to some new friends. Because he is so nice to her, she falls in love with him, an emotion he cannot let himself return. After Sheila's bullying of Vicki turns to physical violence, Andy lets his anger get the best of him and he lands in jail. Vicki gets a measure of revenge with Sheila and, with her newfound friends, helps Andy out of his legal predicament and, in the process, undercover dark secrets Andy has been keeping from Vicki.