The night she went missing

At the start of Bird's gripping debut, Emily Callahan, a senior at elite Callahan Preparatory Academy, is pulled out of the water off Texas's Galveston Island, a tight-knit community of socialites, including Emily's grandmother, who manages the school. Emily, who's been missing for weeks, is alive but can't remember what happened to her. Catherine, Emily's mother, believes football player Alex Frasier is responsible for her daughter's disappearance. Alex, who had previously been accused of rape, was seen leaving a party with Emily the night she went missing. A public altercation reveals Leslie Steele's daughter, Anna, has a secret about Emily she's been keeping. Meanwhile, the police make no progress. When Catherine discovers Emily has a mysterious lighthouse tattoo and is pregnant, she determines to uncover the truth, even enlisting the help of Morgan, Alex's mother, to do so. Bird does a good job dramatizing the extraordinary lengths mothers will go to protect their children. This twisty if a bit over-the-top tale of misdeeds among the privileged shows real promise. Agent: Hayley Steed, Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency. (Feb.)

DEBUT The Callahan family has reigned on the island of Galveston, TX, since the devastating 1900 hurricane. Matriarch Rosalyn is the ruling mistress; Leslie, who married into another prominent island family, is second-in-command--Rosalyn's right-hand woman at the elite Callahan Preparatory School. But when Rosalyn's son and his wife move to Galveston after a scandal, they upset the hierarchy and upend the life of their eldest daughter, Emily. Everyone treats Emily like royalty; she's even overshadowing Leslie's popular daughter Anna. Morgan, another Galveston resident, wants to trust her son Alex after he was accused of sexual assault three years earlier, but when Emily disappears, Morgan fears he might be involved. Months later, fishermen find Emily floating in Galveston Bay, but she can't remember what happened. Leslie harbors secrets that implicate her children in Emily's disappearance, but she will protect them at all costs. VERDICT Fans of domestic suspense will love this well-woven web, with alternating-perspective chapters; it will keep readers guessing until the end.--K.L. Romo