Gretchen: A Thriller

[A] brilliantly constructed novelKirk draws the reader into a fascinating world of shifting truths whose details are by turns grotesque, funny, creepy, thoughtful, and exhilarating. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The new tenants have a terrible secret. So do the landlord and his daughter

Ever since Lucy was two, shes been on the run alongside her mother. Shes never understood the reason for a lifetime of paranoia, aliases, and lies. All she understands are the rules: never lock eyes with strangers, never let down your guard, and always be ready to move on.

Finally, after thirteen years and eleven states, their next hideaway seems perfect. An isolated, fortresslike place in the New Hampshire woods is the new home they share with its owner, a gentlemanly pianist, and his lonely daughter, Gretchen. Shes Lucys age and soon becomes Lucys first real friend.

But Gretchen and her father have secrets of their ownand an obsession with puzzles that draws Lucy into a terrifying new game of hide-and-seek. Lucys dark past is about to come calling. And this time, for her and her mother in the house on the hill, it might be too late to run.