by Taylor Adams
First published 2026
Tess finally caves to her best friend Allie's pressure to go underground exploring. The shy legal assistant feels intimidated by Allie's success as a travel influencer. Their high school friendship has stretched thin across the years. Deep in the cave system, a stranger approaches them. He claims to be another caver, but something feels wrong. Allie confronts the man with her usual confidence. He strikes back violently. Tess finds herself wedged in a tight crawl space, hundreds of feet below ground, fighting for her life. She survives the ordeal and ends up in a hospital bed. A detective interviews her about the attack. He reveals disturbing information about Allie's past. The assault may not have been random. Tess realizes she never truly knew her childhood friend. The danger may have followed her out of the cave.
Genres: adventure, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Cave System
Period: Contemporary
323 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: violence