The night of their senior picnic in 1999, Scarlett Russo and her best friend, Pepper, were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. Afterward, they lied to the police, protecting each other from the consequences. Then Pepper left town, and Scarlett never heard from her again. Twenty-two years later, Scarlett has buried that deadly incident deep in her mind and built a comfortable life for herself. However, her peace is disrupted when Pepper’s daughter shows up with news of Pepper’s death. Zoey has a cryptic letter from Pepper addressed to Scarlett that alludes to the events of that fateful night and Pepper’s initial intentions to get an abortion. Now Zoey wants answers about her mother’s past. Who is Zoey’s father? And what really happened after the senior picnic?

The night of their senior picnic in 1999, Scarlett Russo and her best friend, Pepper, were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. Afterward, they lied to the police, protecting each other from the consequences. Then Pepper left town, and Scarlett never heard from her again. Twenty-two years later, Scarlett has buried that deadly incident deep in her mind and built a comfortable life for herself. However, her peace is disrupted when Pepper’s daughter shows up with news of Pepper’s death. Zoey has a cryptic letter from Pepper addressed to Scarlett that alludes to the events of that fateful night and Pepper’s initial intentions to get an abortion. Now Zoey wants answers about her mother’s past. Who is Zoey’s father? And what really happened after the senior picnic?

Is it better to believe a lovely lie or to know the horrible truth?

1999: The night of their senior picnic, Scarlett Russo and her best friend, Pepper, were involved in a car accident that left two of their classmates dead. Afterward, they lied to the police, protecting each other from the consequences. Then Pepper left town, and Scarlett never heard from her again.

Now: Twenty-two years later, Scarlett has buried that deadly incident deep in her mind and built a comfortable life for herself, working in a hotel on the west coast of Florida and raising her teenage son with her husband, Vince. Her peace is disrupted, however, when Pepper’s daughter shows up with news of Pepper’s death. Zoey is 21 and studying to be an investigative journalist. She has a cryptic letter from Pepper addressed to Scarlett that alludes to the events of that fateful night and Pepper’s initial intentions to get an abortion. Now Zoey wants answers about her mother’s past. Who is Zoey’s father? And what really happened after the senior picnic? As Zoey continues to dig into the past, all of Scarlett’s buried secrets threaten to rise to the surface.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks, “the queen of the page-turner” (Ashley Winstead), will have you questioning who you can trust in this intricately twisted thriller.

Audiobook available, read by Hillary Huber

Beth Ralston, a paralegal in Portland, Oregon, would rather be racking up billable hours than mingling at an office party --- especially when her sister Lindsay, aka her plus one, is a no-show. After making her obligatory rounds, Beth returns to her office to find that her boss has been murdered. She sees a woman fleeing the scene. Was that Lindsay? Unable to catch up to her in time, Beth waits for the police to arrive and notices that Lindsay has left her phone behind with an unsent text message to Beth displayed on the screen: “Don’t ask. Don’t follow.” While retracing Lindsay’s steps, determined to bring her home, Beth uncovers what her sister, an investigative reporter bent on changing the world, was trying to expose --- corruption, secrets and betrayal on an unimaginable level.

Beth Ralston, a paralegal in Portland, Oregon, would rather be racking up billable hours than mingling at an office party --- especially when her sister Lindsay, aka her plus one, is a no-show. After making her obligatory rounds, Beth returns to her office to find that her boss has been murdered. She sees a woman fleeing the scene. Was that Lindsay? Unable to catch up to her in time, Beth waits for the police to arrive and notices that Lindsay has left her phone behind with an unsent text message to Beth displayed on the screen: “Don’t ask. Don’t follow.” While retracing Lindsay’s steps, determined to bring her home, Beth uncovers what her sister, an investigative reporter bent on changing the world, was trying to expose --- corruption, secrets and betrayal on an unimaginable level.

Murder, dark family secrets, and the unwavering bond of sisterhood --- regardless of the cost.

Beth Ralston, a paralegal in Portland, Oregon, would rather be racking up billable hours than mingling at an office party --- especially when her sister Lindsay, aka her plus one, is a no-show.

After making her obligatory rounds, Beth returns to her office to find that her boss, who she’d talked with moments before, has been murdered. She sees a woman fleeing the scene. Wait, was that Lindsay? Unable to catch up to her in time, Beth waits for the police to arrive and notices that Lindsay has left her phone behind with an unsent text message to Beth displayed on the screen: “Don’t ask. Don’t follow.”

Lindsay is unreachable for days, and when Beth starts to come under suspicion for the crime, she decides that waiting is impossible. While retracing Lindsay’s steps, determined to bring her home, Beth uncovers what her sister, an investigative reporter bent on changing the world, was trying to expose --- corruption, secrets and betrayal on an unimaginable level. Revealing the truth might bring back the one person she’s desperate to find --- but it could also destroy the only life and family Beth’s ever known.