The opening chapter of Wendy Corsi Staub’s latest work of psychological suspense, THE LOST SUMMER, involves someone receiving results from a genealogical website. This will make far more sense as this twisty thriller rambles forward.

We then jump between the present day and 25 years earlier in the upstate New York town of Mulberry Bay. It was here, two-and-a-half decades ago, that lifelong pals Midge, Talia and Kelly last saw their friend, Caroline. Her vanishing and presumed death has always haunted them, and now they are seeing each other for a weekend gathering. But the disappearance of another young lady will coincide with their reunion and present shocking similarities to other cases, including Caroline’s.

"In this stunning follow-up to last year’s THE FOURTH GIRL, Wendy Corsi Staub pulls out all of her greatest tricks and plot twists along the way to present a chilling tale that never fails to surprise."

Midge is now Detective Sergeant Midge Kennedy, and she has been tasked with locating 16-year-old Sarah Greene, who never made it home after an event at her church. She makes a disturbing connection when she learns that Sarah was dating a boy whose father died under mysterious circumstances just two months earlier. She begins to realize that this may be just one in a much larger series of deadly crimes that are terrorizing this small town.

Kelly has decided to enlist the help of a private investigator in Caroline’s case, and they are able to turn up some interesting information. Meanwhile, Midge focuses on the church where Sarah was last seen and makes yet another eerie connection to Caroline.

Midge meets with Caroline’s sister, Mary Beth, who is in prison for her participation in a crime of which she may be innocent. This prompts Midge to work on getting her freed on bail. As a result, Mary Beth becomes fully involved in the increasingly dangerous events in Mulberry Bay that threaten not only all of these dynamic women, but also the secrets they have worked so hard to keep for years.

Everything leads to a stunning finale set at Haven Cliff, an abandoned Gilded Age estate that has hosted generations of secrets, including Caroline’s disappearance. This is also the property that Kelly has just purchased, which creates an uncomfortable and darkly ironic setting for the climactic events that will go down here.

In this stunning follow-up to last year’s THE FOURTH GIRL, Wendy Corsi Staub pulls out all of her greatest tricks and plot twists along the way to present a chilling tale that never fails to surprise.