The title of T Kira Madden's debut novel (following her acclaimed memoir, LONG LIVE THE TRIBE OF FATHERLESS GIRLS) is a bit misleading. Sure, WHIDBEY opens with one of its primary characters en route to a much-needed retreat in the woods on this quiet island off the Washington coast. But that's only part of the story, which stretches across years and is as much focused on Florida as it is on Whidbey Island.

But perhaps the title is appropriate because Birdie, that first character to whom readers are introduced, is desperate to leave her time in Florida behind her. She has spent the last several years living in New York City and working as a projectionist, but her desire to abandon her home state goes way beyond the common drive to distance oneself from one's roots. In Birdie's case, her feelings about Florida are intimately tied up with the sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of an older boy when she was just nine years old.

"The combination of a suspenseful, surprising mystery with a perceptive character study makes for a novel as dark and haunting as an ancient forest."

Birdie was the first girl who was abused by Calvin Boyer, a serial pedophile now in his 30s who --- as his mother, Mary-Beth, explains in the chapters from her point of view --- has spent his whole life paying for his crimes. Mary-Beth also has paid dearly for his actions, no matter how much she continues to dote on him. She's responsible for helping to keep his quarterly sex offender registration up to date, she's cared for him when no one else would, and she's lost status and respect in the eyes of her family and community thanks to her association with him.

As for Birdie, she has spent her whole adult life trying to distance herself from Calvin and what happened to her as a child. But a new true-crime memoir from another of his targets, Linzie, has brought it all rushing back. Linzie tells all in her revealing book, including Birdie's own story, thinly veiled with a pseudonym and casting doubt on her memories, just as the lawyers once disputed her youthful testimony. Having just lost her job and dreading the new publicity from Linzie's book, Birdie retreats to Whidbey Island, almost as far from Florida as it's possible to get in the US. On the ferry, she casually mentions to a stranger that she's heading to the island to escape Calvin. When the man says that he could take care of the problem for her, she laughs it off.

Until, just a few days later, Birdie learns that Calvin has been killed, run over multiple times with a car in a way that feels far from accidental. The leadup and aftermath of his death --- told from the points of view of Birdie, Mary-Ann and Linzie --- make up the first two parts of the novel. In the third, the narrator breaks the fourth wall a bit, beginning to address readers and our unanswered questions, and revealing secrets whose breadth might never be known to all the characters but certainly will leave an impression on us.

Throughout, Madden explores the ripples of trauma and the ways in which it continues to resurface over years and distance. She also fearlessly examines the character of Mary-Ann and how and why someone might choose to stand by someone as despicable as this man. Much of this comes down to trust, and the question of who is believed and who is doubted --- and why --- is one that Madden comes back to in different and insightful ways. Above all, what these survivors return to is the longing for safety. Birdie must retreat across thousands of miles in search of a safety that's only an illusion; others are convinced that Calvin's death will surely grant a feeling of safety that remains, in the end, elusive.

Even if readers won't always understand or support the choices these women make, Madden's ability to draw them with clarity and something resembling compassion will resonate with us. The combination of a suspenseful, surprising mystery with a perceptive character study makes for a novel as dark and haunting as an ancient forest.