by E. Kennedy
First published 2026
Ryan Shipley thought she could disappear into Starling, Tennessee. Ten years have passed since authorities arrested her father Gabriel Thorn for serial murder. She keeps her head down and her real name hidden. Nobody in town knows whose daughter she really is. Then investigators reopen Gabriel Thorn's case. Ryan receives cryptic text messages. Strange coincidences pile up around her. Someone leaves a chilling note that makes the whole town suspicious. People start asking questions Ryan cannot answer without revealing everything she has worked to hide. The deeper the investigation goes, the more Ryan's carefully constructed new life begins to crumble. Old secrets surface despite her efforts to keep them buried. Everyone wonders what Ryan actually knows about her father's crimes and whether she has been hiding crucial information all along. Ryan must solve the mystery of her family's twisted history before the truth destroys her completely. In Starling, she discovers that running from the past only works until someone forces you to confront it.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, contemporary
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: deception, secrets, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Starling, Tennessee
Period: 10 years ago
448 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press
Content warnings: murder