For fans of Riley Sager and Shari Lapena, a dark and twisty small-town thriller that challenges loyalty and uncovers deadly secrets hidden in plain sight.

In the tranquil town of Cedar Plains, where safety and community are sacred, Courtney Faith’s ideal life is upended by a body found on a local farm, shattering her peaceful existence. Her friend, Alexa Huston, intimately familiar with chaos, gets entangled in an accidental murder that escalates her spiraling life into deeper darkness. Alexa wrestles with a disturbing question: Is murder justifiable if it targets the deserving?

As bodies accumulate, the local police scramble for answers. Torn between loyalty and justice, Courtney discovers evidence linking Alexa to the crimes. Their friendship frays as Courtney grapples with a dire choice: expose Alexa and risk her own darkest secret, or protect a friend and possibly destroy everything she cherishes.

In Cedar Plains, some truths are too perilous to unearth. Caught in a deadly dance of secrets and lies, Courtney must decide whether to confront the monster behind a familiar face or let their secrets stay hidden, buried within the town’s heart. Their darkest deeds are cloaked in silence, and no one truly knows anything.

Maggie Giles
Maggie Giles is a Canadian author who writes suspenseful women's fiction and thrillers. Her debut novel, The Things We Lost, was named a 2023 distinguished favourite in Women's Fiction by the Independent Press Awards. Maggie has been a member of the Women's Fiction Writers Association since 2014 where she previously worked as their Social Media Director. Currently she works in Marketing. Maggie dove into writing a novel head first despite having aphantasia, a condition where one lacks a visual imagination. She lives in Ontario with her mastiff-mix, Jolene, and spends most of her days enjoying the outdoors, from swimming to hiking to skiing in the winter.