First published 2014
Felix Brewer charms nineteen-year-old Bambi Gottschalk at a Valentine's Day dance in 1959 with wild promises he sometimes keeps. His illegal businesses fund a luxurious life for Bambi and their three daughters until July 4, 1976, when Felix faces prison and disappears without a trace. Bambi suspects his young mistress Julie knows where he went. Ten years later, Julie vanishes too. Everyone assumes she joined Felix until her body turns up in a Baltimore park. Now retired detective Sandy Sanchez works the cold case for extra money. His investigation uncovers fifty years of bitter feelings among the women Felix left behind. Each woman carries her own mix of jealousy, resentment, and longing for the man who shaped their lives. Four women remain from the original five. The question haunts them all: does someone know what really happened to Felix Brewer and Julie?
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: deception, enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Baltimore, Maryland
Period: 1959, 1976, 1986
334 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: murder, violence