The Ascent - by Allison Buccola (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved. No sightings of the members were ever verified, and no bodies ever found. But the group did leave one thing behind: a twelve-year-old girl wandering alone on the side of the road in search of her lost family. In the years since that morning, Lee Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her. She has built a new identity for herself, with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter. No one in her life now knows about her connection to "the cult that went missing," not even her husband. But new motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn't want to let her daughter, Lucy, out of her sight even for a moment. She can't return to work. She is not sleeping, and starting to have paranoid thoughts of Lucy being harmed. Then a stranger show up on her doorstep, who claims to be her long-lost sister. In her Lee sees the path to understanding the truth about her past, finally--if she could only trust that the woman is who she says she is. As she digs deeper into the truth about the woman's history the safe, stable life that Lee has constructed for herself threatens to shatter"--

Book Synopsis

What would you do if the past showed up on your doorstep?

A woman who grew up in a cult must decide if she can trust the stranger claiming to have answers to the dark mysteries of her childhood in "a standout thriller with something deeper on its mind: how the past doesn't just haunt you, it reshapes you" (The Seattle Times).

"I tore through this book and was genuinely shocked by its ending!"--Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines

A WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

For decades, the whereabouts of The Fifteen has been an unsolved mystery. All the members of this reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished twenty years ago, except for one: a twelve-year-old girl found wandering alone on the side of the road.

In the years since that morning, Ophelia "Lee" Burton has tried to put the pain of her past behind her, building a new identity for herself with a doting husband and seven-month-old daughter, Lucy. But motherhood is proving a bigger challenge than she anticipated. She doesn't want to let Lucy out of her sight even for a moment. She can't return to work. She's not sleeping, and she has started spiraling into paranoia.

Then a stranger shows up on her doorstep, offering answers to all of Lee's questions about her past--if Lee could only trust that this woman is who she says she is. Can Lee keep her safe, stable life? Or will new revelations about "the cult that went missing" shatter everything? In The Ascent, Allison Buccola has crafted a nerve-rattling thriller about motherhood, identity, and the truths we think we know about our families.

Review Quotes

"[The Ascent] will appeal to readers seeking emotional depth and strong character development. . . . This isn't about the cult, but rather the psychological aftermath of that traumatic, ultimately isolating experience. And Buccola does a wonderful job of capturing that space."--The Washington Post

"The Ascent is a parable for these days, where cults and conspiracy theories abound, where loyalties shift seemingly on a whim and it is all documented automatically--if not always factually--on social media."--BookPage

"Allison Buccola flips the script on typical cult thrillers by zeroing in on what comes next--the long shadow of survival. . . . The final twist is a jaw-dropper, recontextualizing everything that came before. Gripping, emotional and layered, Buccola's novel is a standout thriller with something deeper on its mind: how the past doesn't just haunt you, it reshapes you."--The Seattle Times

"Unsettling . . . People have long been fascinated with cults, and this twisty thriller will absolutely appeal."--Library Journal

"A fine fictional thriller about a cult whose members all suddenly vanish in Pennsylvania . . . This one is a real page-turner."--The Charlotte Observer

"The mystery at the heart of this novel is irresistible: How could fifteen people, all part of a doomsday cult, simply vanish one morning without a trace? The Ascent follows the only member left behind as she struggles to protect herself and her child from the trauma of her past and the dangers of her present. I tore through this book and was genuinely shocked by its ending!"--Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines

"I read this enthralling psychological thriller in one fell swoop. Every time I thought I would put it down, it sucked me back in and I lost an entire night of sleep. The Ascent is an intense examination of motherhood, trauma, marriage, and our fascination with cults. . . . I loved it."--Jo Piazza, internationally bestselling author of Everyone Is Lying to You

"I've always been a hard-core fan of Allison Buccola, and The Ascent takes me over the top with one of the most cleverly executed and original thriller plots I've read in a long time. Buccola's delicate writing is masterfully sneaky--her soulful young protagonist is holding your hand in the dark, then snatches it away as you race to the twisty conclusion."--Julia Heaberlin, internationally bestselling author of Night Will Find You

"A knife-sharp look into the psyche of a cult survivor who hasn't come to terms with the events of her past, this is a triumph of a book. Poignant and twisty, layered and tense, I was obsessed with knowing how all the loose threads inevitably tied together in the end."--Stacy Willingham, New York Times bestselling author of Only If You're Lucky

"An irresistible thriller . . . The Ascent is a gripping and fascinating look at life after a cult, packed with reasons to fly through the pages."--Megan Collins, author of Cross My Heart

About the Author

Allison Buccola is the author of Catch Her When She Falls. She has a JD from the University of Chicago and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and their two young children.