by Jess Walter
First published 2025
Rhys Kinnick punched his daughter's husband at Thanksgiving dinner in 2016. The political fight pushed him over the edge. He threw his phone out the car window and disappeared into a remote Pacific Northwest cabin. Seven years later, his grandchildren arrive at his door. Their mother has vanished. Their father joined a Christian Nationalist militia. The kids need somewhere safe to stay. Rhys takes them in, even though his cabin lacks electricity and plumbing. Raccoons raid his monthly groceries. He adapts to caring for children again. Then the militia shows up and takes the kids. Rhys must leave his isolated refuge and return to the fractured world he abandoned. A bipolar retired detective joins his rescue mission. His caustic ex-girlfriend also helps. Together they chase the kidnappers through the wreckage of modern America. Rhys faces the broken society he fled and confronts his own damaged mental state.
Genres: american-fiction, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, thriller, family-drama
Vibes: dark, emotional, gritty, intense, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: forced-proximity, found-family, redemption-arc, rescue-mission
Setting: Pacific Northwest, Modern America
Period: 2016, Contemporary
272 pages · Paperback · Harper Perennial
Content warnings: kidnapping, mental-illness, violence