First published 2026
The Button siblings gather at their father's annual Prodigy Ball, each carrying the weight of Leontes Button's brutal training methods. Octavius the Maestro, Fola the Brain, Bilal the Olympian, Perdita the Artist, and Romeo the Failure have spent their lives proving their adoptive father's theory about manufactured genius. When someone kills Leontes during the celebration, police lock down Button Manor with all guests inside. The five heirs become prime suspects, each harboring secrets that could destroy them. But Leontes made enemies beyond his own family. His "Button Method" created brilliant children and bitter rivals. As investigators dig deeper, the siblings must navigate years of resentment, competition, and abuse while hunting for their father's killer. The mansion holds more than one deadly secret, and survival depends on the very intelligence their father forced them to develop.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, family-drama
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Button Manor
336 pages · Hardcover · Feiwel & Friends
Content warnings: abuse, mental-illness