A sea of unspoken things A novel

James Golden and her twin brother, Johnny, share a deep connection, but James' decision to leave their tiny hometown of Six Rivers, California, for San Francisco created distance between them. When Johnny is found dead from a gunshot wound, James returns to figure out how her brother, who'd spent his life navigating the wilderness, could have fallen prey to a hunting accident. As she delves into the details of Johnny's life in the years since she'd left, James finds potential leads--issues with his work as a nature photographer documenting invasive owls, his mentorship of a talented young artist named Autumn, and his on-again, off-again relationship with Sadie, the owner of the town diner. She's also forced to confront ghosts from her own past, including her ex-boyfriend Micah, and an accidental death that took place during her senior year of high school. Young (The Unmaking of June Farrow, 2023) crafts a slow-burn suspense novel full of unexpected twists. James' determination to discover the truth will keep readers engaged, while a romantic subplot adds to the drama. Hand this to readers who enjoy Nalini Singh's suspense fiction.

Young (The Unmaking of June Farrow) examines how the past bleeds into the present in her inviting and moody latest. James Golden, a 30-something artist in San Francisco, left her claustrophobic hometown in the redwood forests of northern California for art school following the death of a high school classmate. Now her troubled twin brother, Johnny, a photographer who has been working on a conservation project documenting owls in the area, has been found shot to death. After James returns to her hometown seeking answers about his death, she gets caught up in a relationship with her high school sweetheart, who for many years was Johnny's best friend, and catches up with other high school acquaintances. The longer she stays in town, the more she feels a strong psychic connection with her dead brother and wonders just what his spirit is trying to communicate to her. Though the mystery unfolds in fits and starts, Young anchors the story in a strong sense of place, describing how James feels she and Johnny were "forged from the shadows of this forest as creatures that were meant to survive only here." It's a potent tale. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Word One Literary. (Jan.)