First published 2022
Lux McAllister needs an escape. Trapped in a dead end job in Hawaii after a family tragedy, she jumps at the chance to sail passengers Brittany and Amma to remote Meroe Island aboard The Susannah with her boyfriend Nico. The island promises adventure and solitude in the South Pacific. But when they arrive, another boat waits at anchor. Jake and Eliza, the wealthy owners of the Azure Sky, welcome the newcomers to their tropical paradise. For the first time in years, Lux feels she belongs somewhere. Then a lone sailor arrives seeking trouble, and the group's harmony fractures. Brittany and Amma harbor secrets about their past. Jake and Eliza's perfect relationship masks deeper problems. Meroe Island itself carries a dark history of shipwrecks and cannibalism. When someone disappears and another person dies, Lux realizes they are more isolated than anyone imagined. The island that promised freedom now feels like a trap, and Lux must discover who she can trust before they all become victims of Meroe's deadly legacy.
Genres: adventure, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, isolated, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Hawaii, Meroe Island, Pacific Ocean, The Susannah
Period: Contemporary
320 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: death, violence