"Novelist Ronee Renee has a natural instinct for shadowed storytelling. A Soul to Keep is a fast-paced, shivery tale, yet its characters always seem caring and real. I particularly loved the ending." Rebecca Singleton, author of the novel, Jersey Blue

"Mommy, help me!" Four years after Amanda Davidson's son Robbie was abducted from their back yard, and found strangled, his helpless cries still haunt her dreams. Her waking life has been reduced to an apparently endless hunt for his killer. When a similarly brutal crime occurs in a small town only six hours from her home, Amanda journeys north to a picturesque village at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, where a sadistic killer has not finished his work. Embroiled in the dynamics of the town, she finds love, passionate and unexpected. The killer strikes again. A four-year quest will culminate at the end of a lonely mountain road on a moonless night, as Amanda finds she has underestimated the depth of betrayal. The mistake may cost her the life of another child.

"The allure of Renee's elegant plotting, the play of her ideas and the engaging suspense, kept me firmly hooked from beginning to end."
--Joanne Michaels, author of The Joy of Divorce and Living Contradictions

Ronee Renee lives in a small hamlet in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, where she is currently working on her new novel.

One minute he was there, building his castle in the sand box.  The next he was gone.

She didn't panic.  He could just be out of sight.  Amanda walked to the kitchen door, swung it open and called his name. 

"Robbie, Robbie, hon, where are you?" 

She looked around the yard, but it was empty and silent.  She ran around the corner and down the walkway toward the front of the house.  Her heart started to beat faster.  The gate was open. 

"Robbie, come to Mommy." 

She ran out to the front yard, looked to the right and her heart caught in her throat.  A blue sedan was parked near the curb, two houses down the street.  Amanda ran toward it as it started to pull away.  She could see a small head bobbing in the front seat and a man behind the wheel.  She ran faster, the car stalled.  She felt her throat closing, barely able to contain the lump that had formed.  Tears stung her eyes.  Sweat dripped down the sides of her face, and formed pools under her arms.

Please, oh God, please, she thought, let me catch up.  The car jerked forward and started to roll slowly away from the edge of the sidewalk.  Amanda ran as fast as she could.  She couldn't catch her breath, yet she moved even faster.  Her hand touched the rear fender; she inched up closer on the passenger side.  She could see Robbie clearly now.  His tear stained face was pressed against the window.  He was screaming.  Just a little bit further.  Her lungs were on fire.  She grabbed the door handle.  The car was propelling her forward.  A few more inches.  I can do it.  They were almost to the STOP sign at the corner.  Illogically she thought, he has to stop for that.  I can open the door then.  Her ankles felt like they had lead weights tied to them, the soles of her feet burned, but she kept running.  At the intersection her fingers grabbed the passenger door handle.  She could see the lock in the up position.  A car screeched, the sedan bucked and she heard, rather than felt, the metal hit her body.