Hayley Stone’s parents died after being trapped in their burning home. Although it was never proven, Hayley’s sister, Jenna, was thought to be responsible for the fire. Shortly after their parents’ deaths, Jenna, who had been battling addiction, overdosed. Hayley is now fabulously wealthy – her father was a bank executive – and totally alone.
At her sister’s funeral in Florida, Hayley meets Brandon, whose rugged good looks are hard to resist. After a whirlwind courtship, they are married and Hayley is prepared to leave her urban life in New York City’s West Village behind to move to Crystal River, a remote town in the Adirondacks. Hayley’s best friend, Emily, is skeptical of the plan but promises to visit once the newlyweds are settled.
Brandon’s now deceased father built a modern structure with large glass windows providing an unobstructed view of the mountains and the forests. The land also includes a small cottage which, truth be told, Hayley prefers. Never having trouble sleeping in the city, with all its street noise, Hayley can’t sleep with the eerily quiet now surrounding her. There are no curtains on those windows and she feels exposed and vulnerable. On several occasions, unable to sleep she sits in the living room and sees a coyote staring at her, his yellow eyes boring into her soul.
Brandon, on the otter hand, is in his element. He’s made plans to build a smokehouse to hold all the wild animals he plans to kill with his lethal weapons. He’s explained to Hayley that they will need to be prepared to hunker down when the cold weather sets in. Anticipating that isolation makes Hayley even more anxious. She misses Emily and her life in New York. Was this move – this marriage – a big mistake?
She begins to realize that she knows very little about Brandon and all her efforts to have him open up about his early life in Crystal Lake fail. In town, they bump into a longtime elderly resident, Cheryl, who makes serious accusations about Brandon. Was Brandon responsible for the death of Cheryl’s husband? He denies the allegation, but does nothing to explain what may have happened all those years ago.
A small ray of light appears in the form of Megan, a young woman who is living in town with her boyfriend, Tyler. Megan and Hayley begin to have coffee and do yoga together. When Megan says that they are being evicted from their apartment, Hayley offers to let them live in the cottage until they can find another place to live. Brandon is not happy with the arrangement, but agrees when Tyler offers to help with projects around the property.
Although Hayley’s access to the internet is not great, enough comes through to put her on guard. Olivia Blackwell, a podcaster, continues to float rumors that Hayley had more to do with her parents’ deaths than is known. She also charges that if Hayley hadn’t abandoned her sister in Florida to move back to New York, Jenna might still be alive. With Emily planning to visit soon, Hayley is eager to have her meet Megan. But the meeting is awkward and Hayley begins to wonder if Megan may have an ulterior motive.
Emily plans to hike the Adirondack trail and Tyler volunteers to drive her to the place where the group will meet. But when Emily stops returning Hayley’s texts, she worries something may have happened. With Brandon becoming even more angry and remote, Hayley has no one to trust. Running from her past has cause her to run headlong into danger. With a major storm now closing in, can she escape before it’s too late?
New York Times bestselling author Christina Baker Kline teams up with mystery writer Anne Burt for this atmospheric, tense women-in-peril thriller. Just don’t read it alone in a remote cabin.
Please Don’t Lie
Christina Baker Kline and Anne Nurt
Top photo: Bigstock
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