Book Description

This addictive thriller from New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke draws its details from the author’s own experiences as a criminal law professor and deputy district attorney, creating an exhilarating, true-to-life tale of crime and its consequences. Sixteen-year-old Julia Whitmire appeared to have everything: a famous father, a luxurious Manhattan townhouse, a coveted spot at the elite Casden prep school. When she is found dead in her bathtub, a handwritten suicide note left on her bed, her parents insists that their daughter would never take her own life. Detective Ellie Hatcher is ready to write it off as a suicide, but one piece of evidence nags at her. When Ellie’s search of Julia’s bedroom and belongings for a matching notebook turns up empty, she's sure there's more to the case than meets the eye. The ensuing investigation brings the partners inside Julia’s inner circle—an eclectic mix of precocious teenagers at Mahattan’s most elite prep schools and street kids Julia met at Washington Square Park; and Ellie is forced to uncover the truth behind this apparent suicide, navigating Julia's intriguing connections to both New York’s wealthiest—and its most dispossessed.