Elgar follows up the internationally best-selling If You Knew Her with a story set in Cornwall, where Meg has spent many years caring for penny-bright but ailing daughter Grace. Now, Meg has been found beaten to death, and local journalist Jon Katrin jumps in to help find the missing Grace, as he's remorseful about a hole-poking piece he wrote about the family. With a 100,000-copy first printing and 20,000-copy hardcover first printing.

Grace Nichols, suffering from a panoply of illnesses, and her mother, Meg, are the beloved center of their small town. Meg has put her own life on hold as she's cared for her sick daughter into her teenage years—until the night Meg is murdered and Grace disappears. Jon, a down-on-his-luck journalist with a history with the family, and Cara, Grace's only friend, awkwardly join forces to search for Grace, serving as narrators of separate chapters interspersed with Grace's diary entries. What Jon and Cara find after placing themselves in significant peril is not what they expected. The underlying question of the book is whether murder can ever be justified and, in spite of the author's attempt to deal with this in a balanced manner, this story itself answers the question unequivocally, even as it uncovers hidden secrets. Damaged characters abound, and the difficulty inherent in trying to uncover the truth about revered community members causes its own damage.

VERDICT This character-driven book from Elgar (If You Knew Her) will appeal especially to those who enjoy thrillers featuring people who are not what they seem to be, and readers who appreciate flawed but sympathetic characters. [See Prepub Alert, 7/8/19.]—Sharon Mensing, Phoenix, AZ

Set in the tiny Cornish town of Ashford, this enthralling thriller from British author Elgar (If You Knew Her) opens with Cara Dorman finding her neighbor, Meg Nichols, bludgeoned to death and Meg's critically ill 17-year-old daughter, Grace, missing. Might Meg's abusive ex-husband and Grace's father, Simon, be the culprit? Cara feels guilty that she let her relationship with Grace cool in the last year, and she joins forces with journalist Jon Katrin to try to locate the missing teen. Jon has his own agenda. His writing an article about Meg's relationship with Grace, in which he questioned Meg's choice to keep Simon away from Grace, led to his becoming a pariah, and he wants to reestablish his good name. The novel is as much about perceived truth, media, and the workings of small communities as it is about solving crime. Twists and turns keep the reader guessing up to the satisfying ending. Along the way, Elgar wrestles with some engrossing ethical questions that will keep readers thinking long after they reach the end of the book. (Jan.)