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  The Jodi Picoult Collection #3

  Vanishing Acts

  The Tenth Circle

  Nineteen Minutes

  New York London Toronto Sidney New Delhi

  Contents

  Vanishing Acts

  The Tenth Circle

  Nineteen Minutes

  About Jodi Picoult

  Reader’s Companion

  About Emily Bestler Books

  About Atria Books

  Ask Atria

  PRAISE FOR NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  JODI PICOULT

  MY SISTER’S KEEPER

  WINNER OF THE ALEX AWARD FROM THE

  YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION

  “This beautifully crafted novel will grab readers with its stunning topic.”

  —People

  “[A] tense, high-concept piece of women’s fiction in the tradition of Anna Quindlen and Rosellen Brown.”

  —Entertainment Weekly

  “Has the emotional tenacity to fuel tears and talk.”

  —Daily News (New York)

  “[A] thrill to read.”

  —The Washington Post

  “Full of insight, inspiration, and heartbreak. . . . Picoult’s handling of the central issue is flawless.”

  —San Jose Mercury News

  “An eloquent portrayal of the family in crisis. Every character: real. Every situation: true. Picoult defies you to put this novel down once you’ve begun it. I do the same.”

  —Elizabeth George

  “[A] fascinating character study framed by a complex, gripping story. . . . A beautiful, heartbreaking, controversial, and honest book.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  “It’s difficult to find a book combining a timely moral dilemma with well-drawn characters for whom one cares. Picoult has written such a book.”

  —The Boston Herald

  “[Picoult’s] thoughtful, thought-provoking and readable work is . . . arguably her best and most accessible effort to date.”

  —The Denver Post

  “[C]ompelling and believable.”

  —Richmond Times Dispatch

  SECOND GLANCE

  “Picoult has become a master—almost a clairvoyant—at targeting hot issues and writing highly readable page-turners about them. . . . It is impossible not to be held spellbound by the way she forces us to think, hard, about right and wrong.”

  —The Washington Post

  “Picoult ingeniously ties the ghost story to a true one about eugenics. . . . The history lesson makes for chilling, even shocking, reading.”

  —People (Critic’s Choice)

  “[An] elaborate, engrossing plot. . . . Suspense and the supernatural are artfully interwoven. . . . Picoult’s ability to bring [her characters] all vividly to life is remarkable.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  PERFECT MATCH

  “Picoult’s characters are so compelling.”

  —USA Today

  “Picoult’s novel . . . reminds us how easy it is to jump to conclusions and to do all the wrong things for all the right reasons.”

  —Glamour

  “A spellbinding story.”

  —The Toronto Sun

  SALEM FALLS

  “Picoult . . . keep[s] the reader constantly guessing.”

  —The Dallas Morning News

  “Picoult’s depiction of the legal process is excellent . . . intriguing and thorough . . . [with] a couple of eye-opening surprises.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  PLAIN TRUTH

  A PEOPLE MAGAZINE “PAGE-TURNER OF THE WEEK”

  “[A] suspenseful, richly layered drama. . . . [A] hummer of a tale.”

  —People (starred review)

  “Absorbing and affecting.”

  —Entertainment Weekly

  “Quietly electrifying . . . [with a] magnificently painted backdrop and distinctive characters.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE

  “Picoult spreads her wings and catches an updraft.”

  —The New York Times Book Review

  “Rich and charming. . . . Picoult casts a spell with her beautiful imagery and language. Reading this book is a delight.”

  —Ann Hood, author of Do Not Go Gentle

  “As Picoult uses five voices to tell a complex tale of love, friendship, and a Faulknerian family history, her mastery of language strongly individuates her characters. . . . This powerful and affecting novel demonstrates that there are as many truths to a story as there are people to tell it.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  MERCY

  A GLAMOUR MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR

  “Picoult writes with a fine touch, a sharp eye for detail, and a firm grasp of the delicacy and complexity of human relationships.”

  —The Boston Globe

  “An inspired meditation on love. . . . A sensitive exploration.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  Praise for Jodi Picoult

  THE TENTH CIRCLE

  “A chilling account of the contemporary world of teenagers. . . . [A] remarkable achievement and a great read.”

  —Rocky Mountain News

  “Another gripping, nuanced tale of a family in crisis from bestseller Picoult.”

  —People

  “Picoult’s writing finesse shines. . . . Coupled with its illustrated counterpart, [The Tenth Circle] becomes a treat for both the mind and the eye. . . . Picoult challenges the reader to draw parallels in his own life.”

  —Houston Chronicle

  “In her taut tale, Jodi Picoult deftly builds the suspense as the story moves from the aftermath of rape to more heartache. . . . [She] will make you guess until the end.”

  —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

  “Jodi Picoult’s books explore all the shades of gray in a world too often judged in black and white. She does it again in The Tenth Circle with a strong mix of metaphor and storytelling.”

  —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  “Thought-provoking and topical . . . the book twists the reader’s heart. . . . [Picoult] leads readers to consider thorny issues around motives and consequences.”

  —Denver Post

  “Picoult’s great strength, which has revealed itself in previous novels, is here on almost every page. . . . She portrays teenagers with a deft and intuitive touch.”

  —The Wichita Eagle

  “Some of Picoult’s best storytelling distinguishes her twisting, metaphor-rich 13th novel. . . . This story of a flawed family on the brink of destruction grips from start to finish.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Picoult had this reader up until the very end of this fast-paced tale.”

  —Library Journal

  “When it comes to the freeze-frame of a family caught in the headlights of loss and irreversible regret, Picoult has no equal.”

  —Jacquelyn Mitchard

  Praise for

  NINETEEN MINUTES

  “Picoult is a rare writer who delivers, book after book, a winning combination of the literary and the commercial. . . . No reader can possibly foresee the book’s stunning denouement. This is vintage Picoult, expertly crafted, thought-provoking, and compelling.”

  —Entertainment Weekly, Grade: A

  “A vividly disturbin
g narrative about what can happen when we least expect it and how little time it takes for life to be turned upside down.”

  —Boston Globe

  “The best thing about a Jodi Picoult novel is that she makes 450 pages fly by like 150. . . . The only thing that will slow readers down is the time it takes to wipe away the tears.”

  —San Antonio Express-News

  Praise for

  VANISHING ACTS

  “Ms. Picoult is a solid, lively storyteller.”

  —The New York Times

  “Richly textured and engaging. . . . Picoult is a pro at lively storytelling.”

  —The Boston Globe

  “The worlds Picoult creates for her characters resonate with authenticity, and the people who inhabit them are so engaging.”

  —People

  Praise for

  MY SISTER’S KEEPER

  “Picoult is known for writing fictional page-turners that address controversial issues, and her latest novel is no exception. . . . My Sister’s Keeper is a thrill to read.”

  —The Washington Post

  “A powerfully poignant, page-turning read.”

  —San Antonio Express-News

  “A fascinating character study framed by a complex, gripping story. . . Picoult’s novel grabs the reader from the first page and never lets go. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, controversial, and honest book.”

  —Booklist (starred review)

  Praise for #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult’s startling and poignant novel

  Nineteen Minutes

  “Adept character development and intelligent plot twists. . . . Nineteen Minutes is both a page-turner and a thoughtful exploration of popularity, power, and the social ruts that can define us in ways we may not wish to be defined.”

  —Rocky Mountain News (Denver)

  “Picoult is a rare writer who delivers, book after book, a winning combination of the literary and the commercial. . . . No reader can possibly foresee the book’s stunning denouement. This is vintage Picoult, expertly crafted, thought-provoking and compelling.”

  —Entertainment Weekly, Grade: A

  “[Nineteen Minutes is] absorbing and expertly made. On one level, it’s a thriller, complete with dismaying carnage, urgent discoveries and 11th-hour revelations, but it also asks serious moral questions about the relationship between the weak and the strong, questions that provide what school people call ‘teachable moments.’ If compassion can be taught, Picoult may be just the one to teach it.”

  —The Washington Post

  “Breathtaking storytelling by a bestselling writer.”

  —The Associated Press

  “Lots of humor, assured writing, and a meaty, provocative plot: Nineteen Minutes deserves to be where it is—at the top of the bestseller list.”

  —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  “Every bit as gripping and moving as Picoult’s previous novels, Nineteen Minutes will no doubt garner considerable attention for its controversial subject and twist ending.”

  —Booklist

  “Picoult paints a troubling portrait of families and kids, especially the bullies and the bullied. . . . [The book’s] ordinariness gives it surprising power. This could be your community, your neighbor, your family.”

  —USA Today

  “Picoult’s fiction is intelligent, often moving and always ripe for book club discussion.”

  —Daily News (New York)

  “Brilliantly told.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  Praise for

  The Tenth Circle

  “A chilling account of the contemporary world of teenagers. . . . [A] remarkable achievement and a great read.”

  —Rocky Mountain News

  “Another gripping, nuanced tale of a family in crisis from bestseller Picoult.”

  —People

  “Thought-provoking and topical . . . the book twists the reader’s heart. . . . [Picoult] leads readers to consider thorny issues around motives and consequences.”

  —Denver Post

  “Picoult’s writing finesse shines. . . . Coupled with its illustrated counterpart, [The Tenth Circle] becomes a treat for both the mind and the eye.”

  —Houston Chronicle

  “In her taut tale, Jodi Picoult deftly builds the suspense as the story moves from the aftermath of rape to more heartache. . . . [She] will make you guess until the end.”

  —Pittsburgh Post Gazette

  Praise for

  Vanishing Acts

  “Ms. Picoult is a solid, lively storyteller.”

  —The New York Times

  “Richly textured and engaging.”

  —The Boston Globe

  “The worlds Picoult creates for her characters resonate with authenticity, and the people who inhabit them are so engaging.”

  —People

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Part I

  Delia

  Eric

  Andrew

  Fitz

  Part II

  Delia

  Andrew

  Eric

  Fitz

  Part III

  Delia

  Elise

  Part IV

  Eric

  Andrew

  Part V

  Delia

  Fitz

  Part VI

  Eric

  Delia

  Part VII

  Andrew

  Fitz

  Part VIII

  Delia

  Andrew

  Part IX

  Eric

  Fitz

  Delia

  Part X

  Eric

  Andrew

  Fitz

  Delia

  Readers Club Guide

  This one is for Katie Desmond, who fed me Oreos for breakfast on my wedding day, appreciates the fashion sense of blue suede shoes, and knows just how many people died that first night out on the QEII. Every once in a while, a person’s lucky enough to make an unforgettable friend: you’re it, for me.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  As always, I didn’t do this alone. My first huge thank you is to Sergeant Janice Mallaburn of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, a dynamo who probably didn’t realize what she was getting into when she volunteered to help me after meeting me during my visit to the Madison Street Jail, and who is the first (and last) research guru to ever call me Tastee Freak. Thanks to the helpers in other branches of the law: Chris and Kiki Keating, Allegra Lubrano, Kevin Baggs (and Jean Arnett), David Bash, Jen Sternick, Detective Trooper Claire Demarais, Chief Nick Giaccone, and Captain Frank Moran. Judge Jennifer Sobel gets her own special shout-out for accompanying me to jail for a day, if only so that someone would believe me when I came home with all those great stories. New Hampshire State Trooper James Steinmetz and his dogs Maggie and Greta, as well as Rhode Island State Trooper Matt Zarrella, showed me firsthand why search-and-rescue dogs are so impressive. Thanks to the medical and psychiatric professionals, for rendering advice on scorpions, tracheostomies, hysterectomies, and repressed memory: Doug Fagen, Jan Scheiner, Ralph Cahaly, David Toub, Roland Eavey, and Jim Umlas. For speedy transcription, as always, thanks to Sindy Follensbee. For letting me steal mercilessly from their lives: Jeff Hastings, JoAnn Mapson, and Steve Alspach. For being the best first reader ever: Jane Picoult. For their dedication to my writing: Carolyn Reidy, Judith Curr, Sarah Branham, Karen Mender, and everyone else at Atria who makes my head swell. For reminding everyone else to be dedicated to my writing: the indomitable Camille McDuffie. For our fifteen-year anniversary and more, Laura Gross. For being the best cheerleader and ringmaster an author could ask for, Emily Bestler. And for just being: Kyle, Jake, Samantha, and Tim.

  What other words, we may almost ask, are memorable and worthy to be repeated than those which love has inspired? It is wonderful that they were ever uttered. They are few and rare indeed, but, like a strain of mu
sic, they are incessantly repeated and modulated by memory. All other words crumble off with the stucco which overlies the heart. We should not dare to repeat these now aloud. We are not competent to hear them at all times.

  —Henry David Thoreau,

  “A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers,” 1849

  Prologue

  I was six years old the first time I disappeared.

  My father was working on a magic act for the annual Christmas show at the senior center, and his assistant, the receptionist who had a real gold tooth and false eyelashes as thick as spiders, got the flu. I was fully prepared to beg my father to be part of the act, but he asked, as if I were the one who would be doing him a favor.

  Like I said, I was six, and I still believed that my father truly could pull coins out of my ear and find a bouquet of flowers in the folds of Mrs. Kleban’s chenille housecoat and make Mr. van Looen’s false teeth disappear. He did these little tricks all the time for the elderly folks who came to play bingo or do chair aerobics or watch old black-and-white movies with soundtracks that crackled like flame. I knew some parts of the act were fake—his fiddlehead mustache, for example, and the quarter with two heads—but I was one hundred percent sure that his magic wand had the ability to transport me into some limbo zone, until he saw fit to call me back.

  On the night of the Christmas show, the residents of three different assisted-living communities in our town braved the cold and the snow to be bused to the senior center. They sat in a semicircle watching my father while I waited backstage. When he announced me—the Amazing Cordelia!—I stepped out wearing the sequined leotard I usually kept in my dress-up bin.

  I learned a lot that night. For example, that part of being the magician’s assistant means coming face-to-face with illusion. That invisibility is really just knotting your body in a certain way and letting the black curtain fall over you. That people don’t vanish into thin air; that when you can’t find someone, it’s because you’ve been misdirected to look elsewhere.

  I

  I think it is a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is.