by Emiko Jean
Part of Chelsey Calhoun
First published 2024
Detective Chelsey Calhoun gets the call she never expected. Ellie Black, who vanished two years ago, walks out of the Washington woods alive. For twenty years, Chelsey has searched for missing girls, driven by her own sister's disappearance when they were teenagers. She knows happy endings rarely happen in her work. But Ellie's return brings more mysteries than relief. The teenager refuses to explain where she has been or reveal who she might be protecting. Chelsey must uncover the truth behind Ellie's disappearance and survival. She owes it to her sister's memory, to Ellie, and to the next girl who might be taken. The investigation forces Chelsey to confront her past while racing to prevent future victims. This case could finally give her the closure she has sought for decades, but only if she can break through Ellie's silence and expose the danger that may still lurk in their community.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, adult-fiction, thriller, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, gritty, suspenseful
Tropes: obsessive-investigation, past-trauma, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Washington
299 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: child-abuse, kidnapping