Bücher veröffentlicht von Gayle Jensen Foster

At age sixty-five, Emily Alexander fell and broke her hip. Since she had been living alone and had no friends to help out, she was forced to recuperate in Willowbrook Care Center. Carefully maintaining her hidden identity, she registers with her alias Maggie Winters. Fortunately, she quickly makes friends with roommates Florence and Hazel, a pair of eighty-somethings that likely will live out their days at Willowbrook. Having spent much of her life playing piano professionally, the residents were the thankful beneficiaries of her impromptu concerts. Feeling trapped and impatient with being confined, Emily's thoughts drift back over her life. She had always been seeking the purpose of her life, but never seemed to find it. Why did it happen that most were chosen, but a few, like her, were not? She had struggled to fill the hollow darkness in her heart. Her occasional dreams, vivid and lifelike, often sustained her as she grappled with one heartbreak after another.Emily looked forward to regaining her independence and resuming the simple lifestyle, hidden from professional snoops, that she shared with her dog Minnie. At some point, she had accidentally learned too much of the truth. Would they still be looking for her? Was she just being paranoid? And the question always in her heart, what could this bit of knowledge possibly have to do with her mission in life?

Heather was forced to go live with her Uncle. Uncle Reece, her mother''s brother, felt obligated to take her in. But, Aunt Pansy and her cousins resented that she was upsetting their lives. Heather hoped that her mother would soon save her. Coming home from school one day, a strange old man caught her eye and carefully laid a package on the lawn for her. When she opened it she found an old fortune teller''s pendulum. Experiments soon progressed, and Heather seemed to have a unique ability to make the pendulum move when she held a person''s hands and focused on their future. Some of the predictions were frightening! The pendulum might point at-DEATH, or UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS. Nicole encouraged Heather to host a fortune-teller booth at the upcoming Halloween carnival at school. Miss Upton, Heather''s sixth-grade teacher, was immediately supportive of the idea. In fact, Miss Upton seemed to be trying to get closer to Heather. Heather certainly did not want to be a teacher''s pet! Everything seemed to come together the day of the carnival. The pendulum''s predictions seemed to be coming true! At the same time, she was hearing weird noises in her Uncle''s house. While Heather began to learn more about the history of the house, she also began to remember more about the day that she had followed some older kids out to the sand pits-the day that Antol had drowned. Might all of these things be somehow connected?

Ten-year-old son Timmy had already missed the opportunities to go to summer camp with one of his buddies. When family acquaintance Dan offered to take Timmy to the mountains for two weeks for hiking, camping, and taking pictures of wildlife, his parents thought that was a great idea. Lots of fun, a perfect vacation. Timmy tried to argue against the trip, as he had never felt really comfortable around Dan. However, his parents won the argument and off he went. The closer they got to the cabin, the less friendly Mr. Walker''s smile became. The scarier the sound of his voice. After driving all day, Dan and Timmy arrived at a remote cabin. But Timmy was very, very, drowsy, and had some very strange dreams that first night. He awoke in the morning surprised to find that he was not the only child in the cabin. Thirteen-year-old Rex, eight-year-old Dale, seven-year-old Joey, and even five-year-old Susie shared bunkbeds in a common room. He quickly sensed their dread, felt their terror, and heard their screams in the night. Over the next few days, "Uncle" Dan seemed to change personality from one minute to the next. And he was constantly telling the children that they should strive to please "Little Mother". If they made Little Mother happy, perhaps he would introduce them to her. In fact, Dale was chosen for the introduction one evening. But, the next morning Dale was nowhere to be found. Timmy slowly became aware that Dan had no intention of keeping his promises to Timmy''s parents . . . Then he peeked through the keyhole of the forbidden locked door and saw the blood-curling horror that awaited him. He began to make plans, although he had little hope of escaping the deadly welcome of their Home Sweet Home . . .