For Scott Hatcher, a former television writer turned struggling novelist with a failing marriage to boot, social-distancing and mask-wearing feel like fitting additions to his already surreal life.
When his wife, Marie, and neighbor John Bergman disappear in the middle of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Scott is naturally mystified and disturbed, but he is also about to learn that his picturesque neighborhood hides more than just the mundane routines of suburban life.
When a fire claims the empty house for sale next door, the entire community is shocked when the charred remains of Marie and John are found inside. Stranger still, stockpiles of valuable personal protection equipment, clearly stolen, were destroyed in the blaze alongside them.
As the neighborhood reels from the loss, Scott and Bergman’s earthy and enticing widow, Rachel, find themselves not only under investigation for the crime but also inexorably drawn to one another.
As tensions reach a fever pitch, the tale—which is at once familiar and ordinary, yet bizarre and eerie—shows that, just like life in 2020’s uncertain times, dread and danger lurk below the hidden underside of everyday suburbia.
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“A fine and inventive novel…There is death and fire and all manner of neatly handled twists….peppered with compelling characters amid a satisfyingly knotty mystery.”
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Chicago Tribune