THE FOURTH GIRL is the opening installment in Wendy Corsi Staub’s thrilling new Haven Cliff series.

This time-jumping mystery covers a period of around 25 years from the late ’90s through the present day and is told primarily from the perspectives of four best friends from Mulberry Bay, New York, who vow to be BFFs forever. When one of them, Caroline Winterfield, allegedly drowns on prom night, whispers abound about the possible motives and potential guilty parties. Without a body, there is no forensic evidence to be had.

"There were more than a few moments while reading THE FOURTH GIRL that I felt I was in familiar territory and had everything figured out. But Wendy Corsi Staub had other ideas. This novel draws you in and then confounds you..."

The other three are now in their late 30s. Midge Kennedy, who never left Mulberry Bay, is a police detective; Kelly Barrow, who comes from a wealthy family, recently returned to purchase and recreate the long-defunct Haven Cliff manor; and Talia Shaw lives in Westchester and hasn’t been back since college. Many things tie these ladies together, such as dark secrets, a past they all would like to forget, and some unexplainable messages and notes that appear to come from Caroline.

Caroline’s high school boyfriend, Gordy, dies mysteriously around the 25th anniversary of that ill-fated prom. This raises the suspicions of the three friends, as well as the entire Mulberry Bay law enforcement community. Midge dives into the case surrounding the mysterious fall that Gordy took to determine if it was sleepwalking, suicide or a homicidal act.

The investigation will hamper Kelly’s restoration project on the property, and she decides that they all need to get together. This allows them to share their stories about recent unexplainable events and whether or not there is any credence to the fear that Caroline may be alive and seeking the 25th anniversary of her “death” for a reunion of her own planning.

Thrown into the mix is the town vagrant, who may have witnessed more than anyone else did both 25 years earlier and more recently with Gordy’s death. Midge, Kelly and Talia have personal and family secrets of their own to add to the mystery, especially considering that each of Caroline’s older siblings left Mulberry Bay under odd circumstances and never returned.

There were more than a few moments while reading THE FOURTH GIRL that I felt I was in familiar territory and had everything figured out. But Wendy Corsi Staub had other ideas. This novel draws you in and then confounds you with a tale of teenage secrets that do not reappear until adulthood, which reminded me of the theme of the terrific Showtime series “Yellowjackets,” which utilizes the same trope. Staub has produced another winner that demands to be consumed all at once.