A Slow Ruin

An INSTANT BESTSELLER and BOOK CLUB PICK!
Library Journal NCIAP Book of the Year

April 1910. Women’s rights activist Alvera Fields mysteriously vanishes from her home one night, leaving her newborn baby and husband behind, the case never solved.

April 2021. On the anniversary of her great-great-grandmother’s disappearance, Alvera’s namesake Vera Portman vanishes in an eerily similar manner.

Six months later, the police recover a girl’s body from the river. While the family waits in the horror of finding out if it’s Vera, Felicity Portman clings to hope that her missing teenage daughter is still alive. Despite all odds, Felicity senses a link between the decades-apart cases—a mother feels such things in her bones. But all suspicion points to the last person who saw Vera alive: Felicity’s sister-in-law, Marin.

Marin, with her troubled past.
Marin, the poor woman who married into the rich family.
Marin, the only one who knows Felicity’s darkest secret.

As Felicity makes a shocking discovery in Vera’s journal, she questions who her daughter really is. The deeper she digs, the more she’s ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed their ancestor in a terribly slow ruin.

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Little Deadly Secrets comes a page-turning psychological thriller that weaves an ancient family mystery with tense drama. A book club pick perfect for fans of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, Laura Dave's The Last Thing He Told Me, Lisa Jewell, and Ruth Ware.

“An emotionally charged mystery of how a mother must lose her daughter to find herself. Chilling from the first page, gripping until the last.” – reader review

Praise for Pamela Crane:

“It kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading it and trying to guess the twisty ending of what really happened. Fans of thrillers, suspense, and mystery novels will not be disappointed with this book.” – San Francisco Book Review

“You are not prepared for the twists…Pamela Crane has in store for you. Sure to have you at the edge of your seat.” – POPSUGAR

“Crane succeeds at painting families and friendships in vivid detail; women will see their tussles and triumphs in these pages, and will relish the twists and moments of brave camaraderie and bold revenge.” – Booklist