by Tami Hoag
First published 2018
Detective Nick Fourcade walks into a blood-soaked house near Bayou Breaux, Louisiana. Seven-year-old KJ Gauthier lies dead, allegedly killed by an intruder. His mother Genevieve sits unharmed nearby. The scene makes no sense to Fourcade. Why murder a child but spare the adult witness? His wife, Detective Annie Broussard, comforts the grieving mother while wrestling with her own doubts about the crime. The next day brings worse news. Twelve-year-old Nora Florette, who sometimes babysat KJ, has vanished. Parents panic. A new sheriff demands results. The media circles. Then investigators discover Genevieve's criminal past. The case splits open. Did Genevieve kill her own son? Is she losing her mind from grief? What happened to missing Nora? Nick and Annie must navigate lies, secrets, and their own assumptions to find the truth about what really happened to the boy.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Bayou Breaux, Louisiana
Period: contemporary
482 pages · Hardcover · Dutton
Content warnings: child-death, murder