by Todd Ritter
First published 2021
Charlie Jordan needs to get home from college. She finds Josh Baxter through the campus ride board. Both students left university mid-term for reasons they keep private. As they drive cross country together, they swap stories to pass the time. The Campus Killer dominates news reports. This predator has murdered three students over the past year, binding and stabbing each victim. The killer struck again recently. Charlie starts catching Josh in lies. His stories don't add up. Details shift. She grows convinced Josh is the Campus Killer. Charlie plans her escape while trapped in a moving car with a suspected murderer. Josh seems to read her thoughts. He knows she suspects him. Charlie realizes she might become victim number four. The road stretches ahead with nowhere to run.
Genres: suspense, mystery, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, unreliable-narrator
Setting: College, Cross Country
Period: Contemporary
336 pages · Hardcover · Dutton
Content warnings: murder, violence