First published 2011
Lauren steps back into Wisteria, Maryland after seven years away. Her mother died here when Lauren was young, drowning in the local river under circumstances that made headlines as potential murder before officials ruled it an accident. She comes to visit Aunt Jule, who welcomed her warmly during that terrible time. The reunion starts with affection and joy, but Lauren soon notices the heavy tension that now fills the household. Aunt Jule acts nervous and secretive. Cousin Nora, supposedly mentally ill, watches Lauren with an eerie, silent stare. Even Nick, once Lauren's boyfriend, behaves strangely around her. Mysterious accidents begin happening to Lauren. Unexplained presences seem to move through the meadows and waterways where she once played happily with her mother before that fatal day. The question that torments Lauren most is why someone desperately wants her dead.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: returning-home, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Wisteria, Maryland
224 pages · Paperback · Newton Compton
Content warnings: death