Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
New Yorker Grace Evans, one narrator of this intriguing thriller from Rose (One of Us Is Dead), books a getaway at a remote ranch near DuBois, Wyo., to escape her high-powered banking career and relax. The other narrator is the ranch's proprietor, Calvin Wells, who promises to keep her safe after she tells him on arrival that she had a run-in with a creepy gas station attendant en route. The good news: plenty of outdoor activities and breathtaking scenery; the bad news: little to no phone reception and no internet. Though Grace is a bit apprehensive, she shrugs it off, determined to disconnect from technology. But then her car starts acting up, folks in DuBois aren't exactly friendly (including Calvin's friends and family), and then the police show up looking for a young woman who was supposed to be the ranch's most recent guest. Calvin says she never showed, and Grace believes him; the two become increasingly entangled as things go awry. A sinister undercurrent runs throughout, and while the reader is privy to each narrator's thoughts, there are a few land mines buried along the way to the surprise ending. Rose should win new fans with this one. Agent: Sandy Lu, Book Wyrm Literary. (Apr.)Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the name of the character Grace Evans.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Will-they, won't-they turns into something altogether darker: Who is after whom? Grace Evans is a bit of a mystery, even to herself. She's never been able to explain her annual tradition of throwing a dart at a U.S. map and traveling wherever it lands. Maybe her goal is to escape from her life in New York, where she's in control too much of the time. This year, her tradition sends her to a ranch in Wyoming with an Airbnb and, she discovers on her arrival, hot host Calvin Wells. It all seems like good luck. Calvin thinks having Grace as his guest is pretty lucky too, as his alternating point-of-view chapters show him getting stuck on his guest as her time with him passes. Grace and Calvin spend bucolic days together riding horses, grocery shopping, and getting to know each other in what turns out to be their own little slice of paradise. But how well can you really know someone? wonders Grace, particularly as a local police officer keeps coming to the door asking about a girl who had booked Calvin's Airbnb and then vanished without a trace. She never showed up, Calvin claims, and Grace wants to believe him even as she grows suspicious. Mysterious animal deaths, haunting dreams, and vague warnings from local townsfolk have Grace wondering if she's safe staying with Calvin, but checking her car shows that it needs repairs, so she may not be able to get away even if she tries. In the face of Grace's growing concern, Calvin promises that everything's fine, and it is for a long time, until it isn't. All buildup with a late-coming release. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.