The Night She Died — Jennifer Patrick

Seventeen-year-old Sterling O'Connor works at the local Dairy Queen in a small town in Georgia. With his bleachedout hair and multiple piercings, smart, edgy Sterling has already cut a swath through the local high school talent. One day a stranger walks in, an older woman from up north. His attraction is instant and all-consuming. To Lara he is just a kid with a crush. But he does have something going for him. Alone, and a stranger in town, Lara finds herself spending time with Sterling. She buys an old Victorian house and hires him to help her fix it up. They become closer, and she is drawn to him. Rumors about her relationships with men soon begin to circulate, and tensions escalate.

Lara is shot dead. And Sterling is the prime suspect.