<P>A haunting tale of suspense rendered with the masterful skill only Barker could muster. After the loss of his parents young Jack Thatch first met Stella as a child--this cryptic little girl of eight with dark hair and darker eyes sitting alone on a bench in the cemetery clutching her favorite book. Gone moments later the brief encounter would spark an obsession. She'd creep into his thoughts his every waking moment until he finally finds her again exactly one year later sitting upon the same bench only to disappear again soon after. The body of a man found in an alley every inch of his flesh horribly burned yet his clothing completely untouched. For Detective Faustino Brier this wasn't the first and he knew it wouldn't be the last. It was no different from the others. He'd find another just like it one year from today. August 9 to be exact. Isolated and locked away from the world in a shadowy lab a little boy known only as Subject 'D' waits grows learns. He's permitted to speak to no one. He has never known the touch of another. Harboring a power so horrific those in control will never allow him beyond their walls. All of them linked in ways unimaginable. SHE HAS A BROKEN THING WHERE HER HEART SHOULD BE conjures thoughts of early King and Koontz. A heart-pounding ride that creeps under your skin and will have you turning pages long into the night.</P>