Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: December 26th, 2023
Pages: 304
Publisher: Kensington Books
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher’s Synopsis:
“In this riveting thriller from a new master of suspense, a young dancer’s homecoming is marred by a grisly discovery—and the realization that nothing in her past may be quite what she believed.
When Esmé Foster left the Boston suburbs to become a professional ballerina, the future shimmered with promise. Eleven years later, her career has been derailed by an injury, and Esme knows it’s time to come back to Graybridge to help her brother care for their ailing father. But her return coincides with an unthinkable crime. Kara Cunningham, one of Esme’s high school friends, is found dead in the woods behind the Fosters’ house.
Esmé is shocked and grieving, but also uneasy. In her dreams, she still sees the man who showed up at the scene of the car accident that killed her mother—and told Esmé he was going to kill her too. Family and friends insisted the figure was a product of Esmé’s imagination, that she was concussed after the crash. But she and Kara looked alike, sharing the same petite build, the same hair color. Could Kara’s murder have been a case of mistaken identity?
Detective Rita Myers is familiar with close-knit communities like Graybridge, where, beneath the friendliness, there are whispers and secrets. The town has seen other tragedies too, including the long-ago drowning of a young girl in a pond, deep in the woods. Even within the once-close circle of friends that included Kara and Esmé, Rita discerns a ripple of mistrust.
Day by day, Esmé discovers more about the place she left behind—and the friends and family she thought she knew. Soon, shining a light into the darkness to learn what really happened the night Kara died is the only way she can bring the nightmare to an end . . .”
My Review:
I devoured this book! I read it in one day because I couldn’t put it down. Terri Parlato is fast becoming a new favorite thriller author of mine. I loved her debut and this one is even better. (Finally… an author who didn’t fall into the second book death trap.) Written like a true classic mystery/thriller. I am a sucker for investigative thrillers, and anything that feels like true crime, which is one of my favorite parts about the way this book was written. I also love the small town atmosphere and the coming-back-home-to-confront-things-from-the-past trope – all the drama and turbulent relationships. I loved Esmé and Rita. There are a lot of players in this story and it really kept me guessing. I highly recommend this book to all mystery/thriller readers out there. Y’all are going to love this one. I can already see this one easily becoming a super popular release and I’m excited to be a part of the hype for it!
Disclaimers:
Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this amazing story! I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Have you read this book? Planning to add it to your TBR?
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