May 1, 2024
Thirty-year-old attorney Abby Corman feels deeply indebted to her best friend, Gia Highsmith Torres, whose father financed her education. So when she receives a plea and a plane ticket from newlywed Gia to meet her in Sweden, Abby dutifully travels to rendezvous with Gia's younger brother Benny, now a dashing screenwriter. But Gia is a no-show, and after a few cryptic texts, Abby and Benny decide to go to Greece, where Gia has been renovating the family's beachfront villa to sell it. Interspersed with Abby and Benny's search is Gia's own manuscript detailing her whirlwind romance with her new husband, Garrett, and their encounter with a mysterious young couple they open their home to. Complicating matters are Abby's growing feelings for Benny, who had a crush on her when they were teens, as well as the secret she's long kept about the death of a boy Gia was involved with. In her debut thriller, Wood spins a delightfully steamy, scintillating, and enchanting puzzle of a tale that will keep eagle-eyed readers on their toes. A perfect summer read.
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Starred review from June 1, 2024
DEBUT Gia and Abby have been friends since childhood but have seen little of each other in the years since the tragedy they experienced in Greece when they were 18. Now Gia invites Abby to reunite at a lavish 30th-birthday celebration in Sweden, but then Gia fails to show up. She is also not in residence at her glittering beachfront estate in the Greek islands. Abby must confront her past while also receiving threatening messages as she searches for Gia. The story unfolds through alternating chapters that present the perspectives of both Abby and Gia, with Gia's truth revealed through a memoir manuscript that details the events leading up to her disappearance. There's plenty of salacious sex among the well-developed cast of yacht-set characters. The Greek islands setting, with late-night parties by the pool and cocktails on the beach, will appeal to readers seeking an escape to crystal blue waters. VERDICT Debut author Wood has expertly mixed romance with mystery in a novel that leaves more questions than answers. This fast-paced thriller will work well for book clubs and fans of the unreliable narrator trope.--Carrie Voliva
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July 29, 2024
Wood’s bracing debut centers on a pair of potentially venomous best friends. Gia Torres, a wealthy heiress, and Abby Corman, whose mother was once Gia’s personal chef, have been friends since childhood. When the two were 18, Gia saved Abby’s life by killing a man who attacked her, then turned the experience into a successful memoir—though the women’s memories of the incident differed. More than a decade later, Abby gets an invitation to join Gia on an all-expenses-paid vacation to Sweden. Though initially reluctant, Abby accepts, hoping the trip will help mend the rift that developed after Gia married a shady shipping magnate. Once Abby arrives in Sweden, however, Gia is nowhere to be found. After rushing to Gia’s home in Greece, Abby discovers the draft of a memoir about the days leading up to Gia’s disappearance, but she can’t untangle fact from fiction within its pages. Alternating Abby’s perspective with passages from Gia’s manuscript, Wood ingeniously orchestrates the plot to a series of powder-keg reveals. Fans of Paula Hawkins will devour this wily, sun-soaked thriller. Agent: Sarah Bedingfield, Levine Greenberg Rostan.