by Zoje Stage
First published 2026
Detective Andy Cooper stares at retirement with nothing but an empty house and broken dreams. Her daughter died in a drunk driving accident. Her marriage collapsed. The woods behind her home shrink as development creeps closer. She plans to buy an RV and travel with a dog she doesn't own yet, anything to fill the void her job will leave behind. Then the bodies appear. Murder victims with no knife wounds or bullet holes. Instead, teeth marks cover the corpses. Chunks of flesh are missing, torn away by something that chewed on human bones. The bite patterns don't match any human jaw. As Andy works to solve these bizarre killings, she meets Fiona. Where Andy retreats from the world, Fiona throws herself into every experience. Where Andy stays home, Fiona wanders freely. Their friendship grows around shared walks through nature and conversations about wildlife. Fiona's energy pulls Andy back toward life. But Fiona hides something dark behind her bright smile. When Andy discovers the truth, it threatens everything she believes about the world around her.
Genres: mystery, horror, adult, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotionally-complex, psychological, suspenseful
Tropes: dark-secret-revealed, found-family, unreliable-character
Period: contemporary
252 pages · Hardcover · Blackstone Publishing, Inc.
Content warnings: death, gore, murder