by Kelsey Cox
First published 2026
Ingrid comes back to Anhalt, Texas, twenty-five years after her sister Isabelle disappeared without explanation from Sherman Ranch. The timing proves terrible. Construction crews have started excavating the ranch property just as the town prepares for its annual Lone Star Princess Pageant. The pageant awakens buried memories for Melanie, who cannot escape her past traumas. Cat fights to stay sober while old threats resurface around her. Sarah Lynn carries the weight of family expectations, knowing that failure means destroying a legacy of pageant victories. When a record-breaking storm knocks out the power grid, everyone becomes trapped together. Old grudges explode into new confrontations. The forced proximity turns deadly as people settle scores that have festered for decades. Multiple bodies will fall before the storm passes.
Genres: drama, mystery, horror, contemporary, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, gritty, suspenseful, tense
Tropes: buried-secrets, forced-proximity, multiple-perspectives, storm-setting
Setting: Anhalt, Texas, Sherman Ranch
Period: contemporary, 25 years prior
336 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: abuse, addiction, death, murder