The haunting prologue of YOU’LL BE SORRY tells it all. A couple is seemingly very much in love and physically attracted to each other. But once they sit down and really begin to talk, they realize they have secrets with which they must come to terms. Sadly it appears this moment may never come as the last picture we have of them is their bodies falling to the snowy earth outside a cabin in the woods, and they are covered in blood.

These images are quite difficult to forget and tell readers all they need to know about Lisa Gardner’s latest novel. In the opening chapter, which is set in 1998, we encounter the stray dog that the tiny, isolated mountain village of Shereford, New Hampshire, affectionately has come to know simply as “Dog.” He has been adopted by most residents and become a fixture. 

"One of [Gardner's] darkest and most complex novels to date, [YOU'LL BE SORRY] will resonate deeply with any reader who dares to dive into it."

Then the Dixons arrive from New York on the family farm that they visit each year. The four Dixon children come across Dog, and they officially take him in. What a surprise when Dog turns up back in town one night, seemingly to beckon someone to come out to the farm. Inside the large cabin, Police Chief Grady finds signs of the Dixons having left in a hurry, with bloody footprints all over the surrounding area. Dog urges him to look outside, but they will never be seen again.

In the present day, Amanda Grady has followed in her father’s footsteps. She is the bastion of safety in her small town, which is filled with secrets and a dark past. Once the events of the prologue and the eerie first chapter are tied together, readers will see just how big a task awaits Mandy. The greatest hurdle will be getting past a community that does not want certain secrets to be revealed at any cost. 

Mandy stops by to welcome Raquel and Theo Collins, who have moved into the lodge once owned by the Dixons. While they are well aware of that tragic cold case, they have no idea just how deep the wounds still are in Shereford. They also don’t know that some of the locals are not happy about these wounds being reopened or anyone potentially seeking the truth behind the Dixons’ disappearance.

Raquel and Theo do not sit by idly. As they’re remodeling, they begin to delve into this mystery. Dogs seem to play a big role in the story. When a stray wanders onto the property, they welcome him to their new home. However, when he comes across some bones that are distinctly human, a connection to the dark and deadly past of the land they inhabit smacks them in the face, and history may soon repeat itself.

It is difficult to go into greater detail without giving away some of the spicy and extremely intense plotting that Lisa Gardner brings forth throughout YOU’LL BE SORRY. One of her darkest and most complex novels to date, it will resonate deeply with any reader who dares to dive into it.