Suddenly nothing in Salem Falls is as it seems: a safe haven turns dangerous, an innocent girl meets evil face-to-face, a dishwasher with a Ph.D.

Quick to notice the attractive new employee at Addie's diner, the girls turn Jack's world upside down with a shattering allegation that causes history to repeat itself - and forces Jack to proclaim his innocence once again. Amid the white-painted centuries-old churches, a quartet of bored, privileged teenage girls have formed a coven that is crossing the line between amusement and malicious intent. Yet planting roots in Salem Falls may prove fateful for Jack. But as this unassuming stranger steps smoothly into the diner's daily routine, she finds him fitting just as comfortably inside her heart - and slowly, a gentle, healing love takes hold between them.

With ghosts of her own haunting her, Addie Peabody is as cautious around men as Jack St. Now, working for minimum wage washing dishes for Addie Peabody at the Do-Or-Diner, Jack buries his past, content to become the mysterious stranger who has appeared out of the blue. Tall, blond, and handsome, Jack was once a beloved teacher and soccer coach at a girls' prep school - until a student's crush sparked a powder keg of accusation and robbed him of his reputation. Bride arrives by chance in the sleepy New England town of Salem Falls, he decides to reinvent himself. Addie, desperate for answers, must look into her heart - and into Jack's lies and shadowy secrets - for evidence that will condemn or redeem the man she has come to love. Jack buries his past, content to become the mysterious stranger who has appeared out of the blue.

Salem falls by jodi picoult