First published 2025
Jack Smyth needs the world to hear his side of the story. The former professional cyclist lost his wife in a house fire, but public opinion turned savage when investigators revealed she died from violence before the flames touched her. No charges have been filed, yet suspicion follows Jack everywhere. He believes a book will save his reputation. Ghostwriter Emily Joyce takes the job for the money. She travels to Sanctuary, Florida, a sterile planned community that feels more like a movie set than a real place. Emily expects to spend a week recording Jack's account of that terrible night. She plans to craft his words into something that might restore his standing. But Jack's version of events surprises her. The story he tells contains details that don't match what Emily thought she knew. As the days pass in the empty Florida town, Emily realizes she may have walked into something far more dangerous than a simple ghostwriting assignment. The truth Jack wants to tell might trap them both.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Florida, Sanctuary
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · ebook · Random House UK
Content warnings: violence