The Gingerbread Girl by Stephen King. Short summary

5 seconds

Emily Owensby, after the death of her young daughter, retreats to an island where she lives all alone. But one day the girl falls into the hands of a maniac, and escaping from him is not easy at all.

1 minute

Emily Owensby, after four years of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant, finally gives birth to her daughter. But the baby soon dies, and the inconsolable mother drowns out her grief by jogging around town. Soon the girl runs away from her annoying husband and goes to Vermillion Key, one of the islands of the Florida Keys archipelago where her father had a summer house. Emily lives there all alone, for the homeowners only come there in the summer.

One of the houses belongs to millionaire Jim Pickering, who comes to the island a couple of times a year with his «nieces.» One day Emily runs past Jim’s house and sees a bloody strand of hair dangling from the trunk of the car. The rich man has recently massacred another girl. This is how Emily falls into the hands of the insane pervert Jim Pickering. After tying up the girl, the maniac leaves to rehabilitate the witness.

On his return he finds Emily almost freed. The chase begins, during which Emily manages to exhaust the maniac and lure him into the sea, where he drowns after a fight.