Read more
I won’t say a word. Cross my heart and hope to die. . . .
Jonah Baum, a professor of poetry at a remote Vermont college, sees his ordinary life torn apart when his wife, Rebecca, and young daughter, Sally, vanish from their home. No evidence of a kidnapping. No sign of murder. No proof Rebecca abandoned her marriage. Just Sally’s chilling drawings, Jonah’s little lies, and a sheriff’s nagging fears that nothing is what it seems.
Even Sally’s best friend, Lucinda, knows Sally wouldn’t just disappear, not after they’ve shared so many secrets—especially about what they saw in the woods, a secret Lucinda swore she’d keep.
As the search for Rebecca and Sally intensifies, suspicion drives Jonah into seclusion. Now, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of their disappearance, Jonah finds a girl in the woods and grows convinced she’s linked to Sally. Is she a coincidence? Is she even real, or just a manifestation of Jonah’s desperation and grief? Or is something more sinister at play in the dark woods?
About the author
Eric Rickstad is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of The Silent Girls, Lie in Wait, and Reap, novels heralded as intelligent and profound, dark, disturbing, and heartbreaking. He lives in his home state of Vermont with his wife, daughter, and son.
Summary
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Girls comes this chilling, harrowing thriller set in rural Vermont about a recluse who believes the young girl he's found in the woods is the reincarnation of his missing daughter, returned to help him solve her and his wife's disappearance.
I won’t say a word. Cross my heart and hope to die…
Jonah Baum, a professor of poetry at a local college in Vermont, sees his ordinary life come tumbling down when his wife and young daughter vanish from their home. No evidence of a kidnapping. No sign of murder. No proof that Rebecca didn’t simply abandon her marriage. Just Sally’s crude and chilling drawings, Jonah’s little lies, and the sheriff’s nagging fears that nothing is what it seems.
For Sally’s best friend, Lucinda, it’s something else. She trusts in Sally not to just disappear, not after they’ve shared so many secrets—especially about the woods and what they saw there. But she’ll never tell. No one would believe her anyway.
As the search for Rebecca and Sally intensifies, and as suspicion falls on Jonah, the disappearances become more relentlessly haunting than anyone can imagine. Because what’s seen in the light of day is not nearly as terrifying as what remains hidden in the dark…
Additional text
“Rickstad’s best novel yet. With shrewd and crafty skill he spins one taut and chilling psychological ride.”
