First published 2024
The narrator has everything she ever wanted: a beautiful daughter and an engagement to Nick, the man she's loved since childhood. When Nick announces his sister Carla is coming home after disappearing twelve years ago at sixteen, the news feels like perfect timing. Carla was the narrator's closest friend before she ran away without explanation. Everyone celebrates Carla's return. Nick is overjoyed. Their mother Marjorie weeps with happiness. Old friends plan reunion gatherings. But the narrator notices troubling details. Carla's behavior feels wrong. Her memories of their shared childhood don't match. She deflects questions about where she's been. The narrator voices her suspicions to Nick, to Marjorie, to their circle of friends. They dismiss her concerns completely. They insist she's overthinking things. But the evidence keeps mounting until the narrator reaches an inescapable conclusion: this woman is not Carla. Now she must convince others of a truth no one wants to hear.
Genres: domestic-fiction, mystery, contemporary, adult-fiction, psychological-thriller, thriller-suspense
Vibes: dark, psychological, suspenseful, tension-filled, unsettling
Tropes: gaslighting, imposter, nobody-believes-her, unreliable-narrator
Period: present-day, twelve-years-prior
300 pages · Paperback · Furphies Press
Content warnings: gaslighting