A tale of psychological suspense from the author of the Edgar Award-nominated What Remains of Me, in which a seemingly open-and-shut police case with a clear-cut hero and villain turns out to be anything but simple.
... riveting ... masterfully told in different voices from a well-developed cast of characters. Police officer Pearl Maze is worthy of her own series. Fans of Megan Abbott and Wendi Corsi Staub will relish this one.
Gaylin deftly pries into the challenges of parenthood, the hidden lives of teenagers, and the cruelties that hide behind the idyllic facade of small-town life while also maintaining unrelenting tension. The narrative is told from four perspectives, each with a distinct voice and emotional depth and all trying to understand what happened that fateful night. Though the plot and characters are skillfully managed, the story wraps up quickly after the big reveal and may be unsatisfying to readers who want all their loose threads to be fully fleshed out ... Verdict Gaylin’s skillful balance of tension and intimacy will appeal to fans of psychological and domestic suspense, and the questions she raises about parents, children, and bullying have rich potential for book clubs.
... an absorbing, addictive tale of psychological suspense ... a powerful portrayal of a broken family in crisis ... a triumph of sophisticated, stylized storytelling. Though the fractured family is an age-old write of passage, Gaylin—whose finger always seems to be on the pulse of societal stressors—infuses the topic with absolute immediacy. Absorbing characters, myriad plot twists, and pertinent themes elevate this work beyond genre confines, which is altogether fitting of an author who continues to reach new heights.
