I received an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Willa, a successful psychologist who works with neurodivergent children, is drawn back to a family home in Louisiana where she spent most of her summers in order to keep her past secrets hidden. But when she arrives, she’s drawn into the investigation of serial murders that have just been discovered in the small town and realizes that it’s time to separate the truth from the lies.

Plot: I love a good thriller, so I was drawn to this concept immediately. The idea is very true crime, another genre that I like, so the intersection there is appreciated. At first, I kind of thought this was shaping up to be a fairly run of the mill mystery, but then the twists started happening, and a few developments definitely surprised me. I did figure out who the killer was well before the end of the story, but I’m not sure it would be that obvious if I didn’t read so much in this genre already. Oddly enough, there is also a twist that I saw earlier this summer in Riley Sager’s latest book. I won’t say what it is, because it would be a spoiler, but if you read both of these books, you’ll see it immediately. For the record, I don’t think anyone copied anyone or anything like that. These books came out within a few weeks of each other, so there’s no way that happened. It’s just like that meme, you know? It’s weird that it happened twice!

Style: I like my thrillers tight and to the point with enough atmospheric detail to make it creepy and unsettling, and this book delivers on all of those points. The pace is fast, but I still get a sense of where it’s taking place and what details are important. Louisiana is always a particularly evocative setting, I find, and that’s used to major advantage here, especially with the bayou playing a key part in the narrative.

Trigger Warnings: There’s murder, which is kind of a given. There is also quite a lot of child abuse, both emotional and physical, as well as involuntary drugging and brief instances of suicide and panic attacks.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I was really impressed with this book. There were lots of red herrings that seemed legitimate, and every chapter made me want to keep reading, which is exactly what you want in a thriller. I also liked the neurodivergent representation, and Willa’s professional perspective on how to treat neurodivergent people. All the information was accurate, and it was nice to see that, but it also didn’t get to the point of being a soapbox disguised as a novel. The integration was very organic. I’d definitely read another book from this author, free or otherwise, and I hope I get a chance to in the future.