... by Joni Picoult.
The Hartes and the Golds have been neighbors for 18 years and their children have been like brothers and sisters. Surprisingly, once Chris and Emily get to high school their friendship becomes more intimate. The devastation hits when Emily's family receives a call from the hospital saying that she is dead from a gunshot wound to the head. All evidence leads to Chris, buy why? He claims to love Emily and that he had planned to kill himself as well. Detectives do not believe his story about the suicide pact and suspects there is much more involved. Picoult keeps the reader in total suspense, as the relationship between the families becomes strained and the story unfolds, developing the motive for the murder of Chris' childhood friend and first love.
