First published 2017
Chris Brennan walks into Central Valley High School with perfect credentials and a winning smile. He wants the teaching job and the varsity baseball coaching position. His resume gleams. His references check out. Everything about him screams ideal candidate. But Chris Brennan isn't his real name. His background is fabricated. His entire identity is constructed around one goal: he needs someone from the baseball team for a secret mission. Three families orbit the team. Susan Sematov's son Raz pitches with wild talent and aches for the father he recently lost. Single mother Heather Larkin watches her shy son Justin struggle to find his place as the team's newest player. Mindy Kostis rules the booster club while her star catcher son Evan speeds around town in his new BMW, drunk on privilege. Each family sees Chris differently. Each boy responds to his attention. But Chris has chosen his target. As the season progresses, his real plan emerges from the shadows, and the families discover that their trust has put them in mortal danger.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Central Valley High School
368 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: violence