Charlie Donlea, one of the most original new voices in suspense, returns with a haunting novel, laden with twists and high tension, about two abducted girls-one who returns, one who doesn't-and the forensics expert searching for answers. Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. When they disappear from a beach party one warm summer night, police launch a massive search. No clues are found, and hope is almost lost until Megan miraculously surfaces after escaping from a bunker deep in the woods. A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has turned Megan from local hero to national celebrity. It's a triumphant, inspiring story, except for one inconvenient detail: Nicole is still missing. Nicole's older sister Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole's body will be found, and it will be up to someone like Livia to analyze the evidence and finally determine her sister's fate. Instead, the first clue to Nicole's disappearance comes from another body that shows up in Livia's morgue-that of a young man connected to Nicole's past. Livia reaches out to Megan for help, hoping to learn more about the night the two were taken. Other girls have gone missing too, and Livia is increasingly certain the cases are connected. But Megan knows more than she revealed in her blockbuster book. Flashes of memory are coming together, pointing to something darker and more monstrous than her chilling memoir describes. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you've been looking for.
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“This tour de force has all the elements of a well-constructed thriller. There are villains to be reckoned with that challenge even the most diligent sleuths. False paths beckon…[and] Livia’s superior intelligence is put to the test time and again as she pursues a violent killer.
— RT Book Reviews (4½ stars, Top Pick!)
“Chilling and suspenseful. I was gripped from the first page.”
— Candice Fox, New York Times bestselling author“Fast moving page-turner…Donlea skillfully maximizes suspense.”
— Publishers Weekly“Keeps the reader guessing and second-guessing until the end, thanks to an expertly crafted abundance of potential suspects.”
— Library JournalBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Charlie Donlea, author of Summit Lake and The Girl Who Was Taken, was born and raised in Chicago. He spends a part of each year in the far reaches of Canada, where the roads end and lakes are accessible only by float plane. These majestic trips to “God’s Country” inspired the setting for his novels.
Nina Alvamar is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.