by Louise Penny
First published 2026
When security and fire alarms sound simultaneously across the globe, the signal traces back to China. The President calls Vivien Li, a human rights activist who fled China after Tiananmen Square, to the White House. Her daughter Alice, a food blogger who has lived in her mother's shadow, gets summoned too. Vivien warns that if the Chinese government isn't behind the attack, something worse is happening. A rogue element may have seized control, making China dangerously unstable. The estranged mother and daughter must work together despite their talent for misunderstanding each other. Their search for answers takes them from the Oval Office to Akron, Ohio, from Hong Kong noodle shops to the tomb of China's first emperor. Forces within both governments try to stop them as they race to prevent the next catastrophic attack. They must decode an ancient legend and a secret language created by women. This thriller explores the fragile balance of power between nations and within families, showing what happens when both collapse.
Genres: adventure, contemporary, thriller, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Akron, China, Hong Kong, Ohio, Oval Office, United States
Period: 21st-century
400 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books