The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Caine, Rachel. Killman Creek. Thomas & Mercer, December 12, 2017. Kindle.

In the novel Killman Creek by Rachel Caine, the second book in the Stillhouse Lake series, believing she has nothing else to lose, Gwen Proctor uses herself as bait to lure and catch her serial killer ex-husband Melvin Royal. She fights not only against her ex-husband but also a group of tech-savvy psychopaths who fake a video of Gwen helping Melvin commit one of his murders. Gwen is on her own after the police, her children, and even Sam Cade, her most trusted ally, turns against her when he sees the videos.

Twelve days after Melvin’s escape from prison, Gwen decides she is finished running from him. She leaves her children, Atlanta “Lanny” and Connor, under the protection of Javier Esparza and Kezia Claremont, and sets out to track down and kill Melvin. Sam goes with her. Sam, whose sister had been killed by Melvin, had originally sought Gwen out because he thought she had helped in her husband’s murders. He had since been convinced she knew nothing about what Melvin was doing and has dedicated himself to helping her protect her children.

Gwen and Sam’s investigation leads them to Ballantine Rivard, a rich old man whom they believe hired a private investigator to track down Absalom. Things begin going wrong as soon as they meet Rivard. He shows Gwen and Sam a video in which Gwen appears to be helping Melvin abduct Sam’s sister. Rivard admits he believes the film is faked after they watch it but the shock of what Sam has seen puts a division between him and Gwen.

Meanwhile, Connor begins communicating with Melvin, his father, using a phone that his father smuggled to him. Melvin shows Connor the faked video in which Gwen appears to be helping with the murders. He shares it with Lanny, Javier, and Kezia, who are all quick to believe what they are seeing. In an intensely emotional scene, Gwen’s children ask her to leave. Kezia and Javier tell her not to return until she can prove the video is a fake. In the car with Sam, who is prepared to part ways with Gwen as well, Gwen tells Sam she plans to use herself as bait to catch her husband. She tries to makes Sam promise he will catch and Melvin if she traps him.

Even though Sam does not like the idea of using Gwen as bait, he does agree to her plan after Absalom calls him and offers to give him Melvin in exchange for Gwen. With Sam and FBI agent Mike Lustig watching, Absalom’s men kidnap Gwen. Sam and Mike try to track the van carrying Gwen but lose it when a tracking device Sam planted on the van is removed and disabled.

As they try to decide what to do next, Sam remembers seeing an eighteen-wheeler with the name Rivard Luxe on its side on the road when the van disappeared. They realize that Rivard is not trying to stop Absalom but is the head of Absalom. They kidnap and torture Rivard until he tells them where Melvin is holding Gwen hostage. He says that Gwen will be killed by Melvin in a pay-per-view special even expected to earn Absalom half a million dollars.

Meanwhile, Gwen wakes drugged and handcuffed next to Melvin in a derelict plantation house in Louisiana. Even though he tries to make her fear for her own safety and the safety of her children, she reminds herself she has to stay angry with him so she will fight to stay alive. She is able to wound Melvin, kill a guard and get a gun but knows her ex-husband is still alive. Sam and Mike show up just at the last minute and tell Gwen that they saw Melvin in the hallway, dead. Gwen senses Melvin was only pretending to be dead and shoots him just as he lunges at Sam with a knife.

The novel ends happily with Gwen and her children moving back into their house near Stillhouse Lake. Those people who doubted Gwen have apologized to her. Sam is moving in with the family. There is only a bit of unease when Gwen checks the mail and finds a letter from Melvin. She assumes he had someone else mail it after his death. Instead of reading it, Gwen weights the letter down with a rock and throws it in the lake.