Part of The Orphanage by the Lake
First published 2024
Hazel's private investigation business teeters on the edge of bankruptcy when socialite Madeline Hemsley walks through her door. Madeline offers Hazel a lucrative job: find a missing girl from The Orphanage By The Lake. At thirty and single, Hazel desperately needs this case to succeed. What starts as a routine runaway investigation quickly turns sinister. Hazel discovers unexplained blood stains throughout the children's home and strange symbols carved into walls. Shadowy figures begin following her movements. Each clue she uncovers reveals deeper mysteries lurking within the orphanage's walls. But the most shocking discovery awaits her: Madeline Hemsley herself harbors dark secrets that threaten everything Hazel believes about the case. Hazel must navigate a web of deception where nothing is as it seems and everyone has something to hide.
Genres: mystery, crime, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, gritty, suspenseful
Tropes: mystery-unraveling, unreliable-narrator, web-of-deception
Setting: The Orphanage By The Lake
336 pages · Paperback · Poisoned Pen Press
Content warnings: murder, violence