New Releases by Alex Kiester

From the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of All Good People Here and The Missing Half comes a clever, twisty thriller that asks the question: why are we so obsessed with dead girls? Kat Howard, a scholarship student at the prestigious Ashbrook College, needs to make some extra money, and fast. Enter fellow writing major and Ashbrook''s wunderkind, Theo Hart. At eighteen, Theo became a literary sensation when he published Growing Up Scarface, a memoir chronicling the fire that killed his little sister and left him permanently scarred. Years later, Theo is still waiting for his next great book idea -- and the paycheck that comes with it. Like Kat, he''s desperate. When Theo proposes a scheme to swindle their wealthy classmate and stuck-up oil heiress, Madelyn St. Clair, out of her inheritance, it feels like a win for them both. But as Kat sinks deeper into the con, it becomes clear not everyone is who they seem to be, and soon the game for money turns into one of life or death. As each of these three unique points of view unfolds, a new layer of the story is peeled back, revealing the shocking truth at its heart.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the propulsive first novel from the author of The Missing Half and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie, a journalist uncovers her hometown’s dark secrets when she becomes obsessed with the unsolved murder of her childhood neighbor—and the disappearance of another girl twenty years later. ONE OF POPSUGAR’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR You can’t ever know for sure what happens behind closed doors. Everyone from Wakarusa, Indiana, remembers the infamous case of January Jacobs, who was discovered in a ditch hours after her family awoke to find her gone. Margot Davies was six at the time, the same age as January—and they were next-door neighbors. In the twenty years since, Margot has grown up, moved away, and become a big-city journalist. But she’s always been haunted by the feeling that it could’ve been her. And the worst part is, January’s killer has never been brought to justice. When Margot returns home to help care for her uncle after he is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, she feels like she’s walked into a time capsule. Wakarusa is exactly how she remembers—genial, stifled, secretive. Then news breaks about five-year-old Natalie Clark from the next town over, who’s gone missing under circumstances eerily similar to January’s. With all the old feelings rushing back, Margot vows to find Natalie and to solve January’s murder once and for all. But the police, Natalie’s family, the townspeople—they all seem to be hiding something. And the deeper Margot digs into Natalie’s disappearance, the more resistance she encounters, and the colder January’s case feels. Could January’s killer still be out there? Is it the same person who took Natalie? And what will it cost to finally discover what truly happened that night twenty years ago? Twisty, chilling, and intense, All Good People Here is a searing tale that asks: What are your neighbors capable of when they think no one is watching?

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Alex Kiester, a heartfelt debut that explores the complexity of a modern-day marriage when a new mother vanishes one morning. "This powerful novel takes an honest, unflinching look at the challenges of modern parenthood from both sides of a marriage." - Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans Love isn’t something that happens to you; it’s something you must choose every day. From the moment Ben and June met in a hospital waiting room on New Year’s Eve, their love has seemed fated. Looking back at all the tiny, unlikely decisions that brought them together, it was easy to believe their relationship was special. But now, after several years of marriage, June is struggling as a new mom. At times, she wonders about the life she didn’t choose—what might have been if she hadn’t given up the lead role in a famous ballet to start a family. Feeling like a bad mom and more alone than ever, she writes to her deceased mother, hoping for a sign of what she should do next. One morning, Ben wakes to the sound of his baby and quickly realizes that June is gone, along with her suitcase. As Ben attempts to piece together June’s disappearance, her new friends mention things he knows nothing about—a mysterious petition, June’s falling-out with another mom, her strange fixation on a Greek myth. The more Ben uncovers about June, the more he realizes how little he actually knows her. And now the only way to bring June home is to understand why she left. Told through alternating perspectives of husband and wife, The Truth About Ben and June is a witty and wise page-turner about life’s many crossroads and a heartfelt reminder that we create our own destiny.