The Spring - by Melissa Larsen (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From USA Today bestselling author Melissa Larsen comes an alluring thriller set in Northern California, in which a young woman must infiltrate a cult-like community in an attempt to find and save her adoptive sister.

When the body of a young woman washes up on the shore of a remote beach on the Lost Coast of Northern California, with no ID, no sign of what might have happened to her, and seemingly no one looking for her, it's up to Detective Shawn Gallo to uncover her identity and unravel the mystery of her untimely death.

Meanwhile, in New York City, Shayla Meeker is finally getting her life back on track after making the difficult decision to move her adoptive mother into a care facility, when she receives a call from someone she never thought she'd hear from again: Phoebe Grace Hwang, social media darling and Shay's best-friend-turned-adoptive-sister. Shay hasn't spoken with Phoebe in five years, not since she fell under the spell of the enigmatic Daniel Kinman.

Now Phoebe's calling Shay in the middle of the night, begging her to come visit, whispering that she is in trouble, but the reception is poor, and the line keeps cutting out. Shay can only hear the phrase, "I think you can fix me," before the call drops completely. Determined to find out what's happening with her sister, Shay boards the next flight to California, but when she lands, Phoebe isn't waiting for her. Instead, there's a beautiful teenager named Liv at baggage claim who tells Shay that Phoebe sent her to collect her. When Shay climbs into the truck next to Liv for the long drive up the coast, she has no inkling that she is being drawn into a mystery that will wrench her back into the past and test the limits of her own strength and convictions.

Review Quotes

"Plenty of thriller authors serve up the bodies; Melissa Larsen supplies the brains and the heart, too. The Spring is splendid literary suspense, that unicorn genre blending inquiry, intelligence, and craft--mystery fiction for discerning readers. Fans of quick-fix thrills will plunge headlong into the rabbit-hole plot--which soon becomes a rabbit warren, packed with dodges and wrong turns--but The Spring will reward especially those who savor thoughtful writing, and emotional heft, and psychological depth. And some very big surprises." --A. J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"A missing influencer, an unexplained death, a pair of estranged sisters, a bunch of runaways, a charismatic scion of a dynastic family, and a Northern California retreat that's not not a cult--these are the creepy elements that Melissa Larsen expertly uses to build an insistent drumbeat of dread toward betrayal, violence, and ultimately justice." --Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Doorman

"The Spring is a stirring and sophisticated thriller, the kind that readers have come to expect from Melissa Larsen, who remains unafraid to explore the darkest corners of the human condition. Readers are immediately swept away to the remote beauty of the Lost Coast where a warped version of the elusive California dream awaits: the severed bonds of sisterhood have never been so fraught. Perfect for readers of Tana French and Laura Lippman, THE SPRING will leave you absolutely breathless." --Rachel Koller Croft, USA Today Bestselling Author