Welcome to Mount Orange, Florida, home to a couple thousand living people that nobody’s ever heard of and two really famous dead girls.
Downtown Mount Orange is a three-block strip of insurance offices, real estate offices, and four or five junk stores that call themselves “antique shops.” Other than the memorials to Bailey and Celeste scattered around town, and the old crime scene out at Hidden Glen Springs where they died, the only real things of interest are an old-fashioned ice cream parlor called The Cone Zone and a beauty salon called Kurl up and Dye. Every business sports a dark green awning out front, and big planters of ferns and pink hibiscus line the sidewalks. It would be picturesque, probably, if you didn’t live here.
But I do.
My name is Tru, but more and more often these days, I find myself being less than honest. For instance, I haven’t told my boyfriend that I’m not going to FSU with him in the fall. And I haven’t told anyone that I’m seeing long-dead Bailey and Celeste everywhere I look lately.
I spend as much time as I can escaping from all of that by freediving out at Hidden Glen Springs, the freshwater springs that lie just outside town. If it weren’t for freediving, I’d have probably snapped by now. That cool, clear water and the peace that comes from diving keep me going. So, that’s where I’d suggest you visit, if you ever find yourself stuck in Mount Orange, for whatever reason. Take the highway out of town, past the dilapidated Paradise Motor Court, until you come to the turn-off. Then follow the signs for Hidden Glen. I don’t really care about theme parks or beaches. This is my Florida. I love the untamed beauty of it. Don’t forget your swimsuit. And a dive mask!
Of course, whenever I’m out at Hidden Glen, I’m always aware that it’s just fifty yards or so back into the scrub to the place where Bailey and Celeste died. I still sneak back there whenever I can to look for clues.
The attack on Celeste and Bailey started at their campsite. That’s where Celeste died. Someone slashed through their tent and tore into her with a hunting knife. Stabbed her so many times and with such force that the knife tip broke off inside her body. She never had a chance to escape.
But Bailey ran.
That’s what the reports all say. She ran toward the water.
The killer caught her there, at the edge of the spring, though. And he slit her throat before he tossed her body into the Well.
If you’re one of those true crime ghouls, you’ll probably want to check out the spot. Maybe get your picture taken in the infamous clearing. Some people like to bring a prop to hold. Like a fake knife.
And I guess that’s about it for the tour of Mount Orange, unless you want to check out the memorials scattered around town. Our mayor throws up a new one almost every year, to keep the murder tourists coming. I won’t bother to show you the newspaper office where I work or the shady spot under a huge Live Oak where East kissed me the first time. Or the ditch where I found my sister’s body after the hit-and-run. Nobody cares about that stuff.
The only other thing left to see is the Dairy Barn. I’d definitely make a stop there on the way out of town, if I were you. They have the best burgers, cheese fries, and shakes in Alachua County. 10 out of 10. And you just might see me hanging out there with East and Paz. Or that new girl, Rio. She seems really cool. I hope she’ll stick around a while, but she probably won’t. Most people who come to Mount Orange are just passing through. But, for those of you who were born here, it’s a hard place to leave.
The New York Times bestselling author of Dark & Shallow Lies delivers another chilling supernatural thriller filled with murder, romance, and a decades long mystery that haunts a small Florida town.
The perfect blend of Natasha Preston, Krystal Sutherland, and Delia Owens, with a paranormal twist.
Mount Orange, Florida, is famous for two things: Cerulean freshwater springs, ideal for free divers who aren't afraid of lurking gators. And the gruesome cold case murder of best friends, Bailey and Celeste, twenty years ago.
Bailey and Celeste's murders cast a permanent darkness over sunny Mount Orange. Tru has always lived in that shadow. Now she's supposed to head to FSU in the fall with her boyfriend, but those unsolved murders -- and the death of her own sister -- invade her every thought. It’s only in the shadowy deep of Hidden Glen Springs that she can breathe.
When a strange girl named Rio rolls into town, hell-bent on figuring out who killed Bailey and Celeste, Tru can't resist entangling herself in the thrill of solving the decades old mystery any more than she can resist her familiar, aching attraction to Rio.
As the summer heat ignites, so does the spark between Tru and Rio...along with their other-worldy connection to Bailey and Celeste. But when someone begins stalking them, the girls become convinced the killer is back in town. And if they keep digging into the past, Tru and Rio know this time, it could be their blood that makes the springs run red.
Young Adult Paranormal | Young Adult Suspense [G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, On Sale: March 5, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593625453 / eISBN: 9780593625460]
Ginny Myers Sain lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has spent the past twenty years working closely with teens as a director and acting instructor in a program designed for high school students seriously intent on pursuing a career in the professional theatre. Having grown up in deeply rural America, she is interested in telling stories about resilient kids who come of age in remote settings. Dark and Shallow Lies is her debut novel.
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