Copyright Date:
2021
Edition Date:
2021
Release Date:
11/02/21
Pages:
338 pages
ISBN:
0-06-308315-9
ISBN 13:
978-0-06-308315-8
Dewey:
Fic
LCCN:
2022279050
Dimensions:
24 cm
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
Bereaved mothers seek solace in vigilantism.Five years ago, Matt and Camille Gardener's 15-year-old daughter, Emily, attended a frat party at nearby Brayburn College in upstate New York. There, 17-year-old Harris Blanchard plied Emily with booze, led her into the woods, raped her, and left her to fend for herself in the bitter January cold. Emily was suffering from exposure by the time she was found, and she died three days later. Harris' trial ended in acquittal, and Matt and Camille split. Matt made a fresh start in Colorado, but Camille still lives in the home she once shared with her family, mired in anger and grief. After Camille causes a scene at an awards banquet honoring Harris, who is now a Brayburn senior, she receives an invitation to join a Facebook group for mothers "robbed of their children by the actions of others." Her interactions there trigger another invitation-this one to a secret, anonymous dark web collective comprising mourning mothers with no desire to move on. Initially, Camille assumes the forum is just a safe space to express violent revenge fantasies, and she even posts one of her own. Then she gets a private message from the site's administrator: "Did you mean it?" Escalating stakes and a tight, twisty plot fuel this timely domestic thriller, which unfolds through a visceral first-person-present narration. Camille's pain and fury are so palpable they're contagious, and while the too-neat and somewhat rushed conclusion undermines the story's impact, Gaylin delivers a thought-provoking page-turner that grips and gratifies.An all-too-plausible tale of Highsmith-ian vengeance.
"Chilling...this terrific novel is...propelled by an iron-tight plot that becomes increasingly tense." --New York Times Book Review
"It’s a nerve-shredding, emotionally harrowing ride. Don’t miss it.” —Megan Abbott, New York Times bestselling author
The USA Today bestselling and Edgar Award–winning author of Never Look Back and If I Die Tonight asks how far a grieving mother will go to right a tragic wrong in this propulsive novel of psychological suspense.
Camille Gardener is a grieving—and angry—mother who, five years after her daughter’s death, is still obsessed with the privileged young man she believes to be responsible.
When her rash actions draw the attention of a secret group of women—the collective— Camille is drawn into a dark web where these mothers share their wildly different stories of loss as well as their desire for justice in a world where privilege denies accountability. Fueled by mutual rage, the collective members devise and act out retribution fantasies via precise, anonymous, highly coordinated revenge killings.
As Camille struggles to comprehend whether this is a role-playing exercise or terrifying reality, she must decide if these women are truly avenging angels or monsters. Becoming more deeply enmeshed in the group, Camille learns truths about the collective—and about herself—that she may not be able to survive