The Innocent

Maciag, Martha Otis, Chris Barba, Karen Torres, Anthony Goff, Lindsey Rose, Bob Castillo, Michele McGonigle, and all at Grand Central Publishing, who support me every day.

To Aaron and Arleen Priest, Lucy Childs Baker, Lisa Erbach Vance, Nicole James, Frances Jalet-Miller, and John Richmond, for being the best team a writer could ever have.

To Maja Thomas, who continues to lead the way on ebooks.

To Anthony Forbes Watson, Jeremy Trevathan, Maria Rejt, Trisha Jackson, Katie James, Aimee Roche, Becky Ikin, Lee Dibble, Sophie Portas, Stuart Dwyer, Anna Bond, and Matthew Hayes at Pan Macmillan, for catapulting me to the top in the UK.

To Ron McLarty and Orlagh Cassidy, for terrific audio performances.

To Steven Maat at Bruna, for taking me to the top in Holland.

To Bob Schule, for your friendship, enthusiasm, and editorial skills.

To the charity auction winners: Jane Wind, Gabriel Siegel, Elizabeth and Brooke Van Beuren, Diana Jordison, Cheryl Kosmann, and Michele Cohen. I hope you enjoyed your characters.

To David and Catherine Broome, for the use of your last name, although you’re much cooler than the “Broome” characters in the novel.

To Kristen, Natasha, and Erin, because I’d be lost without you.

And last but far from least, to Roland Ottewell for another great copyediting job.