Excerpt from Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Welcome." Ah, it all was falling into place. This was probably some family man who wanted to make sure the locale was safe enough for his wife and kids and puppy. "Great place, great town. Is there something in particular I can help you with?"

For a long moment, St. Bride was silent. His hands flexed on his knees. "I'm here because of 651-B," he said finally.

It took Charlie a moment to realize this well-dressed, soft-spoken man was talking about a legal statute that required certain criminals to report in to a local law enforcement agency for ten years or for life, depending on the charge for which they had been convicted. Charlie schooled his features until they were as blank as St. Bride's, until it was clear that his former words of welcome had been rescinded. Then he pulled from his desk drawer the state police's form to register a sexual offender.

Copyright © 2001 by Jodi Picoult. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Pocket Books.