Stella Hudson is a ‘special interest’ attorney. It is her job to represent the best interests of the child or teenager in court cases. Though she usually favours teenage clients, this time she has made an exception because of the request of her friend and mentor, a judge named Charles. Having experienced a traumatic event in her own young life, this new case closely parallels Stella’s own personal experiences. She deeply empathizes with Rose’s vulnerability. It is up to Stella to recommend custody arrangements that will best serve Rose’s needs and wishes.
On a personal note, Stella is 38 years old and recently separated from her lawyer husband, Marco. She remains close to him and his warm Italian family. They parted ways because he wanted children and Stella couldn’t provide them, nor did she wish to… She has few people in her life other than Charles, a retired judge, and Lucille, an elderly neighbour.
Rose Barclay is only nine years old. She witnessed the tragic fall and subsequent death of her nanny, Tina. Now she is suffering from traumatic mutism. Rose’s parents are in the midst of divorce proceedings, so soon she will be moving away from the opulent home she shares with them and her paternal grandmother. She is a unique child who dresses quite formally and has the demeanour of an adult. She is an ‘old soul’.
Rose’s mother has a severe phobia about glass since the incident where the nanny fell to her death out of a third floor window. Now, she has replaced all the glass in their home with either plexiglass or plastic. Meanwhile, the extremely intelligent, musical prodigy, Rose doesn’t talk, but she does collect sharp objects – which she secrets away in her room.
When events in Stella’s life begin to mirror those of the nanny Tina’s before her death, the line between paranoia and threat blurs, and Stella faces imminent danger.
At about the one quarter mark I believed I had everything figured out. However… the author cleverly made me then question my ideas. None of the Barclays seemed trustworthy. The mother, the father, the grandmother… not even Rose herself.
“I believe evil is a natural force, like a hungry virus, perpetually swirling through the air and seeking places to infiltrate. Most of us bar the door against it. Others welcome it in.”
Set in an opulent Washington, D.C. suburb, this novel was vividly described. The characters leapt from the page and the tension escalated toward the denouement. Essentially a murder mystery (who killed nanny Tina), it could also be described as a slow-paced psychological thriller. Recommended!
This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.
Publication date: August 6, 2024
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9781250283993 ASIN: B0CGRZHX2H – 336 pages
Sarah Pekkanen is the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of four novels of suspense including The Golden Couple and The Wife Between Us, and the solo author of the thriller Gone Tonight. A passionate volunteer for rescue animals, she serves as an Ambassador for RRSA India and works hands-on in India to heal and vaccinate street dogs. She lives just outside of Washington, D.C., with her family.
For a more in-depth biography of this author I urge you to read her ‘About‘ link on her website. It is very entertaining.
Connect with Sarah Pekkanen via Twitter and/or Instagram.
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