Hart of Madness

A Novel

In 1902, New York City, nineteen-year-old Ruby Hunt comes home to her Park Avenue apartment to find her family murdered. She is the prime suspect in these gruesome crimes but instead of being placed under arrest, Ruby is committed to an insane asylum for life. The insane asylum is located on Hart Island, just off the coast of the Bronx. The island has served as the city's largest potter's field since the mid-1800s. Over a million lost souls are buried there. Ruby's life has irrevocably changed. Her only hope is a kindly caretaker at the asylum and a handsome young rookie police detective with the NYPD. Detective Liam McCarty is convinced Ruby is innocent and sets out to prove it with the help of investigative reporter Nellie Bly, whose experience in an insane asylum makes her the perfect partner. Time is running out, however, because Ruby's treatments are becoming increasingly debilitating. If Liam doesn't rescue her in time, she will be scheduled for a lobotomy. Over a century later, when a descendant of Ruby's uncle is murdered, homicide detective Frank Mead soon realizes that the connection between Ruby's case and his current murder is inescapable. It won't be the first time Frank has solved a cold case from the distant past to resolve today's crime. Digging into the Hunt family is no easy task. Each relative has something to hide and unless Frank can uncover the killer soon, there will be more murders. Using the latest in forensic technology, Frank enlists the help of digital photo expert, Maggie Thornhill, to match photos found in an old suitcase passed down by Ruby's descendants. Along with handwriting analysis and ballistics, Frank is able to piece together the puzzle that spans over a hundred years.