by Abigail Dean
First published 2024
Marty appears perfect to everyone around her, living in her accomplished father's shadow while her mother teaches at the local school. Trent struggles with instability, moving from place to place with his mother as she searches for the right boyfriend to change their lives. Both teenagers find themselves connected by a terrible moment when a gunman attacks during a school assembly in Stonesmere, an English seaside town built on generations of tradition and tight community bonds. Years later, Trent watches news coverage of the shooting from afar, convinced something important remains hidden. He becomes drawn to an online conspiracy theorist who offers alternative explanations for what happened. Meanwhile, Marty tries to fulfill everyone's expectations of how a survivor should behave, but her performance attracts the wrong kind of attention. As Trent falls deeper into conspiracy theories, Marty becomes his target. The shooting's aftermath reveals how trauma, secrets, and unspoken feelings can shape entire lives, connecting two people across time through one violent day.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Stonesmere
Period: contemporary
Paperback
Content warnings: mental-illness, violence