First published 2015
Rachel Jenner takes her eight-year-old son Ben to a Bristol park on an ordinary Sunday afternoon. Ben asks to run ahead on the path. Rachel says yes. When she catches up, Ben has disappeared. Police arrive. Search parties form. Hours pass without any trace of the boy. Rachel's recent divorce has left her shaken, and now she feels herself falling apart. Investigators question everyone in Ben's life. They scrutinize Rachel's ex-husband, who recently remarried. They examine her sister, who seems like the perfect mother. Media attention grows. Public sympathy for Rachel shifts to suspicion. She searches desperately for clues about what happened to her son. The investigation reveals that people she trusted may not be who they seemed. Rachel discovers that her own judgment might be flawed. The familiar faces around her may pose greater threats than any stranger. Time runs out as Rachel fights to find Ben and uncover the truth.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, psychological-thriller
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: deception, missing-person, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Bristol, United Kingdom
Period: contemporary
560 pages · ebook · William Morrow Paperbacks
Content warnings: anxiety, depression