by Tim Johnston
First published 2015
The Courtland family travels from the plains to the Rocky Mountains for one final vacation before eighteen-year-old Caitlin starts college. Her parents hope the trip might heal their troubled marriage. Caitlin sees the peaks as the perfect challenge for her running abilities. She and her younger brother Sean head out for an early morning run through the mountain trails. Only Sean comes back. Caitlin has disappeared without a trace. The family plunges into every parent's worst fear as they search desperately for answers. The mountains that once seemed beautiful now feel menacing and vast. Each family member begins to fracture under the weight of not knowing what happened to Caitlin. They torture themselves with questions about their choices that morning. The mystery of her disappearance pulls them in different directions as they struggle to keep searching while their hope slowly dies.
Genres: adventure, suspense, mystery, contemporary, thriller, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, missing-person, search-for-answers
Setting: Rocky Mountains, Plains
Period: Present Day
376 pages · Hardcover · Algonquin Books
Content warnings: anxiety, death