Unwrapped, by Phyllis Picasso
Jordan Runnell is terribly frightened. Her fear coincides with the two murders that have recently occurred at the township mall, a week apart from one another. In addition to her panic, she is battling the unrelenting nausea of a first pregnancy, and as if that weren’t enough to handle, her new boss, Cheryl Kingston, just happens to be her husband’s former fiancée. To complicate matters yet further, the two murder victims and Cheryl were all childhood friends. Jordan no longer knows whom she can trust.
Detective Bob Drake, in charge of the investigation, is under tremendous pressure from the community, his boss, and the mall store owners to solve the murders quickly. It’s the holiday season, and these unsettling crimes are already keeping people away from the mall, which is struggling with the effects of online shopping and the pandemic. With little in the way of leads, things take a turn when the frightened young woman, Jordan Runnell, walks into the police station. Her story seems almost irrational—she believes she will be the next victim. But is she the next target, or could she be the villain?

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