by Leah Rowan
First published 2026
Marion Crane steals money from her Manhattan advertising job to help her sister flee an abusive husband. When her bus breaks down, she takes refuge at isolated cabins outside town. The young innkeeper Norm Billings seems charming, though oddly fixated on his mother. Marion steps into the shower to wash away the summer heat. Norm pulls back the curtain, knife raised to strike. But Marion fights back. She knees him, grabs his weapon, and kills him instead. Now she faces a terrible choice. She was already a thief running from the law. Now she's a murderer covered in blood. Her sister still needs saving, but Marion must save herself first. She discovers dark secrets as she flees, carrying the knife that made her both killer and survivor. The most famous victim in cinema history refuses to die quietly.
Genres: fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Manhattan, United States
Period: 20th-century
336 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: graphic-violence, murder