Incarnate Read online

  “Ready,” she said with a smile. “I just need to grab my notes.”

  Dr. Sing gave Kim a thumbs-up and headed to his office.

  Kim stood in the empty hall for a moment, inhaling the familiar chemical scent of the place, and taking in the bland institutional artwork. From somewhere nearby, the night janitor’s polka music played on his radio.

  Just for today, Kim was exactly where she needed to be.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  My sincere gratitude to the incredible team at Alloy Entertainment for their continuing love and support of Incarnate. Lanie Davis, you were the best editor that a first-time writer could hope for—full of encouragement and imaginative ideas—thank you for helping to bring this “MS” to life (and thank you for not making fun of me when you realized that I that no idea that “MS” stood for “manuscript”). I am also vastly appreciative of Annie Stone for her enthusiasm and insight.

  I had originally envisioned Incarnate as a television series, and had many champions while developing it. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Alloy’s artistic architect, Les Morgenstein, and to the first person I pitched my story to, Cheryl Dolins, who was even more passionate about it than I was. A heartfelt thanks to Gina Girolamo, Amanda Bowman, and Maggie Cahill, all of whom were instrumental in Incarnate’s development. My journey on the television side also included many words of creative wisdom from the incredible teams at the WB and the CW, including Clancy Collins, Jennifer Robinson, Jennifer Vasquez, Michael Zeeck, Thom Sherman, Joanna Klein, Michael Roberts, Gaye Hirsch, and Mark Pedowitz. I would also like to thank some of the talented television writers who have been helping me ready Incarnate for the screen: David Wilcox, Jeff Vlaming, Bianca Sams, Austin Badgett, and the inspirational Tripp Reed.

  I can’t thank Emily Bestler enough for this opportunity. Also, I owe a debt of gratitude to Lara Jones at Emily Bestler Books for all her support.

  Personally, thank you to my mother, Pat, for encouraging me to follow my dreams, and for always loving me, even when I fell short while reaching for them. Thank you to John and Nora, for allowing me to “borrow” Kim’s name . . . she was an incredible soul and will always be missed. To my boys, Asher and Xander, you two are the reason I love my life. And to Leila: when your father called “no backsies” at our wedding, he had no idea how raw a deal he got—“you own my heart and mind, I truly adore you.”

  Finally, a word of love to my father, who was one of the first people to read this book, but unfortunately will not see its publication. Thank you for showing me how to be a good man. I love you, Dad.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Josh Stolberg, who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two kids, is the screenwriter of such films as Sorority Row, Saw: Legacy, Good Luck Chuck, and Piranha 3D. He’s the director of such indie movies as Conception, Kids in America, and Crawlspace. In his spare time, Josh enjoys photography, much of which can be seen at his website, JoshStolberg.com. He can regularly be found on Twitter and Instagram at @JoshStolberg.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Alloy Entertainment, LLC

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Emily Bestler Books/Atria Paperback edition July 2017

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  Design by Bryden Spevak

  Cover design by Chris Sergio

  Cover photograph by Solarixx/Getty Images

  Author photograph by Jenni Livingston

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Stolberg, Josh, 1971– author.

  Title: Incarnate : a novel / Josh Stolberg.

  Description: First Emily Bestler Books/Atria Paperback edition. | New York : Emily Bestler Books/Atria Paperback, 2017.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017000038 (print) | LCCN 2017006941 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Serial murder investigation—Fiction. | Women psychiatrists—Fiction. | Women detectives—Fiction. | Multiple personality—Fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / General. | GSAFD: Suspense fiction. | Mystery fiction.

  Classification: LCC PS3619.T652 I53 2017 (print) | LCC PS3619.T652 (ebook) | DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017000038

  ISBN 978-1-5011-3657-3

  ISBN 978-1-5011-3658-0 (ebook)