High school cheerleader Georgina "Geo" Shaw, the heroine of this engrossing psychological thriller from Hillier (Wonderland), never dreamed that falling for charismatic older dropout Calvin James would dramatically change the trajectory of her life, much less cause others to lose theirs. But now, 14 years after the drunken night when her BFF, Angela Wong, disappeared, the stoic Geo waits in a Seattle courtroom to testify at the murder trial of her high school love-who is better known of late as the Sweetbay Strangler. And things are about to get much worse. Hillier skillfully maintains the suspense through well-timed extended flashbacks and plenty of shocking, if sometimes improbable, twists. She's less successful in creating convincing characters; Geo's unhappily platonic high school bud turned Seattle PD detective Kaiser Brody functions as little more than a plot facilitator. Despite these issues, there's no denying her page-turner's grab-you-by-the-throat power. 75,000-copy announced first printing. Author tour. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

There is a dynamite thriller-horror plot pulsing through these pages, but it's forced to share time with a less compelling coming-of-age drama. Georgina Geo Shaw, a Seattle high-school student, always the sidekick to her bestie Angela Wong, finally one-ups her friend by catching the eye of hunky, dangerous dropout Calvin James. We know from the novel's opening set in a courtroom 14 years after the drunken night when Angela disappeared that something went very bad indeed after Calvin slouched into the high-schoolers' lives. Now known as the Sweetbay Strangler, Calvin is on trial for murder, and Geo's testimony may implicate her as well. Moving back and forward in time, Hillier parcels out, ever so slowly, the gory details of what took place on that life-changing night, building tension as the bodies start piling up in the present. Though slowed by backstory-establishing flashbacks to Geo and Angela's frenemy relationship in high school (and the role of third-wheel, cop-to-be Kaiser), the novel really takes off when Hillier gets down to the grisly stuff. When wielding sharp or, even worse, slightly dull objects, Hillier has a Chelsea Cain-like ability to horrify her readers in a way that feels agonizingly real.--Ott, Bill Copyright 2018 Booklist

Georgina "Geo" Shaw is a successful businesswoman and engaged to a wealthy CEO, but a secret from her past returns with a vengeance when she's arrested and jailed for being an accessory to the murder of her best friend from high school. Geo's ex-boyfriend, a serial killer known as the Sweetbay Strangler, killed Angela Wong, and Geo's role in helping to cover it up and keeping the secret for 14 years gets her up to five years in prison. Hillier's (The Butcher; Freak) concise and original thriller opens with the end of Geo's trial and the start of her jail term. As details are revealed about the original crime, new murders begin. The story lines are intertwined between past and present, and with little foreshadowing, readers are taken on a journey in real time with the characters. By alternating narrative perspectives between Geo and Kaiser Brody, a former friend-turned-cop, Hillier builds sympathy and compassion for the highly flawed Geo. VERDICT With one mystery already solved before the start of the narrative and with much of the story set in prison, this psychological thriller is unlike any other. Enthralled readers will be rooting for Geo in the end. [See Prepub 12/11/17.]-Natalie Browning, Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.