First published 2020
Adam Merkel's charred body lies in the Nevada desert, discovered by Sal Prentiss, the lonely sixth grader who was his only real connection in Lovelock. The math teacher had abandoned his university career in Reno seven months earlier to work at the local middle school, where he formed an unlikely friendship with Sal, who lives on a remote ranch with his uncles. Social studies teacher Nora Wheaton had recognized Adam as a fellow exile, someone else trapped in this small town by obligation rather than choice. She had returned to care for her disabled father, sacrificing her dreams on the eve of college graduation. Now Adam is dead, murdered in a brutal and deliberate act that shakes the community. Nora begins investigating his past, uncovering disturbing secrets that mirror her own experience. But Sal's reaction to his teacher's death troubles her. The boy's grief carries an unmistakable edge of fear, and Nora suspects he witnessed something he cannot bring himself to reveal. As she works to gain his trust, she realizes that Sal holds the key not only to solving Adam's murder but to reclaiming the future she thought she had lost forever.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller, academic
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Lovelock, Nevada, Reno
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · Kindle Edition · Custom House
Content warnings: death, murder