The stakes seem very low through most of this book, as we follow travel writer and expatriate Lily Moore as she returns to New York City to find out who murdered her sister.

But much of it is also because it just got so damned boring. Some of it is because of my recent aversion to the repetitiveness inherent in standard mystery/detective novels. But this debut novel, the one that put her on the map, was a bit of a disappointment. She's got a real knack for crafting twisty thrillers and her work is objectively entertaining. I was really impressed by Hilary Davidson's work after reading her suspenseful and surprising novel, Blood Always Tells, and her short story collection, The Black Widow Club. A rich, haunting debut.' - MEGAN ABBOTT, New York Times bestselling author of Give Me Your Hand

Taking the classic story of a hero's quest to solve the riddle of a wayward sister, it's ultimately a tale of lost women, victims and victimizers, damaging and perilously damaged. 'Hilary Davidson's lush novel delivers on all counts, offering both slow-burn suspense and creeping pathos.

Determined to learn the truth at any cost, she is unprepared for the terrible toll it will take on her and those she loves. Is Claudia actually missing, or is she playing an elaborate con game? And who's responsible for the body that was found in the bathtub? An obsessive ex-lover? An emotionally disturbed young man with a rich and powerful father? Or Lily's own former fianc�, who turns out to be more deeply involved with Claudia than he admits?Īs Lily searches for answers, a shadowy figure stalks her and the danger to her grows. As Claudia transforms from victim to suspect in the eyes of the police, Lily becomes determined to find her before they do. The real Claudia had vanished, reappearing briefly on the day her impostor died. The dead woman had been using Claudia's identity for months. The situation shifts from tragic to baffling when the body at the morgue turns out to be a stranger's. But when Claudia is found dead in a bathtub on the anniversary of their mother's suicide, Lily must return to New York to deal with the aftermath. Lily Moore, a successful travel writer, fled to Spain to get away from her troubled, drug-addicted younger sister, Claudia. Winner of the Anthony Award for Best First Novel

The damage done by warren fellows