by Blake Crouch
First published 2022
Secret Service agent Ethan Burke regains consciousness battered and disoriented in Wayward Pines, an isolated Idaho town that seems frozen in time. He cannot reach his family or colleagues. Phone calls fail. His superiors remain unreachable. The townspeople offer polite smiles but no real answers. Burke realizes the residents live completely severed from the outside world. His investigation reveals layer upon layer of deception surrounding the town's true purpose. Each discovery leads to more disturbing questions about what Wayward Pines actually represents. Burke's escape attempts meet with failure. His time runs short as he pieces together the shocking reality of his situation. He must accept the town's dark secret and decide whether to fight against it or surrender to forces beyond his control. Burke faces a choice that will determine not just his own fate but his understanding of everything he believed about the world.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Wayward Pines, Idaho
Period: contemporary
300 pages · Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: violence