RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW โข A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the firstโand she may not be the last. . . .
โI read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night.โโBuzzFeed
โExtraordinary . . . A terrifying tale of fears and hatreds generated by racism and class inequality.โโAssociated Press
EDGARยฎย AWARD FINALIST โข BRAM STOKERยฎ AWARD FINALIST โข SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE โข PHENOMENAL BOOK CLUB PICK
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, Publishers Weekly โข ONE OF COSMOPOLITANโS BEST HORROR NOVELS OF ALL TIME
Itโs watching.
Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesnโt exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the night of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the newlywedsโ daughter, Caroline, disappearsโand the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.
Itโs taking.
As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: A summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. Sheโs seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Lizโs high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it canโt be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the townโs history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.
Itโs your turn.
With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.