by Todd Ritter
First published 2022
Casey Fletcher retreats to her family's Vermont lake house after her husband's death and a series of career disasters. The widowed actress fills her days with binoculars and bottles of liquor, studying Tom and Katherine Royce in the house across the water. The couple appears flawless from a distance. Their marriage radiates perfection. Their home sits like a postcard against the peaceful lake. Casey becomes fixated on their seemingly ideal life until Katherine disappears without explanation. What starts as idle observation turns into desperate investigation. Casey digs deeper into the Royces' marriage and uncovers secrets that shatter her assumptions about the couple. The truth behind their polished facade proves stranger and more disturbing than any suspicious neighbor could predict. Casey's search for Katherine leads her into territory where reality bends in unexpected directions.
Genres: suspense, mystery, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: obsession, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Vermont, Lake House
Period: Contemporary
349 pages · Hardcover · Dutton
Content warnings: alcohol-abuse