by Ryan Effgen
First published 2026
Pete Pickford arrives at The Grand Hotel clutching his gastropod research equipment, eager to hunt for rare Carthusian snails in Lake Michigan's waters. His sister Viv steps off the ferry with her teenage daughter, hiding the bombshell that her husband just came out as gay. Their brother Corey shows up with five pounds of cocaine and plans to fleece wealthy tourists. Their father has summoned the family to this pristine island resort of horse carriages and tennis whites for reasons he won't explain. Pete gets distracted by romance with a local mother. Viv's daughter finds her own teenage chaos. Corey discovers that rich vacationers prefer golf to drugs. The family weekend spirals toward catastrophe as buried secrets surface and old resentments explode. Only Corey seems to understand why their father really brought them here, but he's too busy creating disasters to share the truth.
Genres: fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, secrets
Setting: The Grand Hotel, Lake Michigan, Island Resort
Period: Contemporary
336 pages · Hardcover · Knopf