Five-year-old Ava Boone vanished without a trace six months ago. No witnesses, no sightings or arrests. But Grace Wright just moved in next door to the only suspect the case had: quiet, middle-aged Leland Ernest.
Recently divorced, Grace uprooted her two small children to start again and hopes the move will reset her crippling insomnia. With whispered neighbourhood gossip and increasingly sleepless nights, Grace develops a fierce obsession with Leland and the safety of her children. Could she really be living next door to a child-kidnapper? A murderer?
With reality and dream blurring more each day, Grace desperately pursues the truth - following Ava's family, demanding answers from the police - and then a body is discovered...
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He'd brought a spade instead of a shovel. PROLOGUE
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(@TitanBooks, 10 November 2020, 400 pages, ebook, copy from the publisher via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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This is my first time reading the author. Titan Books are one of my favourite publishers and I had faith they would come up with something excellent. They did. This is a domestic thriller and a bit different from the stuff I usually read. Change can be a good thing. The characters are well written and really come alive. I disliked creepy Leland from the start and shared Grace's distrust of the unpleasant man. Grace is a very anxious person and easy to relate to. She wants to protect her children, and something seems off about Leland. The book is unsettling and uncomfortable to read but totally engrossing.
