Phoebe Hall's life unravels all at once when her boyfriend dumps her just as she's accused of plagiarizing her latest book - a best-selling celebrity biography. While her agent assembles a public relations team that does as much damage control as possible, Phoebe's career takes a nose-dive. In the meantime, her close friend Glenda, who is the president of a small private college, offers her a gig teaching writing, which she happily accepts.
Shortly after her arrival, however, Lyle College becomes the setting for a murder. The body of a coed is pulled out of the nearby river, and Glenda asks Phoebe to discreetly look into things, using her background as someone used to drawing secrets out of people, becoming the ultimate confidante, and digging into the past using various research methods. But what Phoebe finds is a secret society for girls known as The Sixes.
The Sixes are not only secretive (who are the members, how do they recruit, and what is the purpose?), but Phoebe begins to suspect that they may be behind the murder. Then Phoebe begins receiving sinister messages at her house, which she believes are being left by members of The Sixes.
Local police are looking into the events, but since the dean of students is convinced that this is the work of a serial killer the information about The Sixes is constantly pushed aside. Phoebe keeps plowing ahead with her investigation and, as she continues to be targeted. memories of her boarding school days with Glenda come flooding back when she was attacked by a secretive group, much like The Sixes. Are the two groups related? Has the old group caught up to her at long last?
While it took me a little while longer than I usually like for me to get hooked by the plot, once I was into the book, I found it thoroughly enjoyable and I could not put it down. About a third of the way in, I was thoroughly ensconced in both the plot and the characters, and I zipped quickly through the rest of the book in one sitting. Phoebe is an extremely well-written character -- she is relatable, sympathetic, intelligent, and the reader can't help but root for her. The friendship between her and Glenda is extremely believable, as well, and is enjoyable and comfortable to read.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Hush and the
Bailey Weggins mystery series comes a thriller set in a
college town where a studentβs death sends one woman on a
search for the truth and into the clutches of a frightening
secret society.
Phoebe Hallβs Manhattan life has suddenly begun to unravel.
Right after her long-term boyfriend breaks off their
relationship, sheβs falsely accused of plagiarizing her
latest bestselling celebrity biography. Looking for a quiet
place to put her life back together, Phoebe jumps at the
offer to teach in a sleepy Pennsylvania town at a small
private college run by her former boarding school roommate
and close friend, Glenda Johns.
But behind the campusβs quiet cafΓs and leafy maple trees
lie evil happenings. The body of a female student washes up
on the banks of a nearby river, and disturbing revelations
begin to surface: accusations from coeds about abuses
wrought by a secret society of girls on campus known as The
Sixes.. To help Glenda, Phoebe embarks on a search for
cluesβa quest that soon raises painful memories of her own
boarding school days years ago.
As the investigation heats up, Phoebe unexpectedly finds
herself falling for the schoolβs handsome psychology
professor, Duncan Shaw. But when nasty pranks turn into
deadly threats, Phoebe realizes sheβs in the middle of a
real-life nightmare, not knowing whom she can trust and if
she will even survive.
Plunging deeper into danger with every step, Phoebe knows
sheβs close to unmasking a killer. But with truth comes a
terrifying revelation: your darkest secrets can still be
uncovered . . . and starting over may be a crime punishable
by death.
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