To Die For
by
Audrey Steidl
Young adult
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
COMING: April 10, 2026
SYNOPSIS:
To Die For is a harrowing look into the life of a narcissist who refuses to take accountability for the damage she inflicts.
High school senior Dei Fields appears completely
harmless, but she has a keen instinct for manipulation. When she first sets
eyes on hot star athlete Mika St. John, she’s determined to have him
… and Dei always gets what she wants. There are only three obstacles:
Mika’s friends, his family, and his girlfriend. But Dei isn’t
afraid to destroy relationships to satisfy her fantasies.
In a
matter of weeks, she love-bombs Mika into thinking he has found his soulmate,
but when Dei’s plans go awry, everything changes—including her
identity. Will Dei get what she wants this time? Or will she finally get what
she deserves?
ENJOY AN EXCERPT:
“Why are you always spoiling things? Why couldn’t you have just
believed me?”
Then the girl
charged toward her, rage in her eyes. Marion had seen this before – it
was the bully on the playground, the mean girl at the gym – why are you
making me do this??
And suddenly Marion knew
that she was fighting for her life. Swinging the flashlight she connected it
with Dei’s upper arm, unbalancing her, if only for a moment. As Dei
staggered back, Marion glanced at the front door and knew that she would never
make it in time. Instead, she headed for the balcony and tugged the glass door
open with all her might. At once, the rain whipped against her face, stinging
like shards of glass, but she knew that Dei could feel it too.
And then she began to scream. After all, they were only
one floor up from the boardwalk. Surely someone would see them struggling!
But there was no one there. It was as if Naples had
become a ghost town. There was nothing but abandoned cars and boarded up
windows – and rising water.
A tiny,
claw-like hand grabbed at her arm and twisted, but she wrenched free. With
Marion’s clothing soaked, it was harder for Dei to hold onto her, but
she stepped all the way out onto the concrete patio, now slick with rain.
“You bitch!”
Marion heard Dei scream behind her and turned to face her abuser but before
she could raise the heavy flashlight again, it slipped from her wet grip and
clattered to the floor.
Seeing it fall, Dei
kicked the flashlight under one of the chairs and then lunged at Marion.
Grabbing her by the hair she was surprised to feel the old woman fighting
back. They were both soaked, their bodies slick with rain and debris carried
in by the fierce wind.
Suddenly one of the chairs slammed into Dei,
hitting her back legs, and she lost her hold on Marion. As Dei staggered back,
Marion moved toward the door, intending to lock her out, but Dei caught her by
the wrist.
“No, you don’t!”
she said fiercely, propelling Marion towards the rail of the balcony.
For one terrifying moment, Marion feared that she would lose her balance and
pitch forward over the ledge to the street below. Instead, her core held --
and years of yoga and gardening paid off in that moment, saving her life.
Pushing herself away from the railing, Marion saw Dei
rushing toward her like a linebacker. She had youth and energy and agility,
but Marion had one thing Dei didn’t have in that moment – her
wits.
As Dei charged towards the railing,
Marion waited until the last millisecond and then stepped aside - the impact
to Dei enough to knock the wind out of her. Falling to her knees, she was now
doubled over beside Marion, if only for a moment.
But that moment was all that it took for Marion to see the iPhone
sticking out of the pocket of Dei’s jeans. Adrenaline surged through
Marion as her right hand connected with the phone, and in one sweeping
movement, she took it and flung it over the balcony to the flooded street
below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Audrey Steidl is the award-winning author
of the romantic thriller, The Fallen. Her passion for storytelling began at an
early age when she wrote scripts and performed them with her neighborhood
friends in full costume and makeup. This love blossomed into a career as an
actress and as a producer for cable television. Now, when she’s not
writing page-turners, Audrey is a hotel travel executive, a pilates fiend, and
a lover of travel and art. A long-time San Diego resident, she shares her home
with her husband Jamie and their mischievous Pomeranian Loki. Her latest
novel, To Die For, is inspired by those who have the courage to walk away from
narcissists and emotionally abusive relationships.
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