A haunting mystery steeped in folklore and family secrets.
Mullen returns with an atmospheric mystery set in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, where folklore, memory, and violence intersect. In 1994, teenage twins Annabelle and Sabrina Riley vanish without a trace, leaving behind rumors, unanswered questions, and a community eager to move on. Decades later, newly appointed police chief Callie Hauser revisits the case after a separate investigation uncovers connections to long-buried crimes, forcing the town to confront a past it has worked hard to suppress.
Mullen excels at depicting the complicated bonds between women and the ways trauma reverberates across generations. The Pine Barrens provide an evocative backdrop, their dense woods and local mythology lending the narrative an undercurrent of unease without overwhelming the central mystery. The author patiently layers revelations, building a portrait of a town shaped as much by silence as by truth. Some readers may find the novel’s shifting perspectives uneven. The twins’ second-person chapters create emotional distance, and a later viewpoint feels less fully integrated into the story’s larger framework. Still, Mullen skillfully balances character study with suspense, delivering a thoughtful exploration of family, loss, and the enduring consequences of secrets.
***
Pub date June 9, 2026
Celadon Books
ISBN 9781250400574
Price $14.99 (USD) Kindle edition, $25.99 Hardcover
