by Jon Ronson
First published 2026
Jon Ronson receives alarming texts from his son Joel after the young man gets drawn to a remote castle in New England's forests under false promises of a party. The reality proves far different and far stranger. This mystery launches Ronson into his first investigation in eleven years, pulling him deep into a world where men have lost their moorings and search desperately for meaning at any price. The trail leads from a wealthy heir with unclear motives to a lawncare influencer wrongly caught up in a plot targeting children. Two recently released murderers head toward Ronson with threatening intentions. The author applies his signature blend of humor and psychological insight to examine the masculinity crisis playing out across America. He tracks men who are acting out, shutting down, or running out of time entirely. Ronson structures his findings as a true crime thriller, following leads and uncovering secrets hidden within the castle walls.
Genres: psychology, american-fiction, contemporary, social-issues, mystery-thriller, true-crime
Vibes: darkly-humorous, investigative, suspenseful, thought-provoking, unsettling
Tropes: mystery-investigation, personal-stakes, social-critique, unreliable-reality
Setting: New England, America, Castle
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
336 pages · Hardcover · Riverhead Books
Content warnings: murder, violence