A wickedly funny and empowering thriller about women, the manipulators who underestimate them, and keeping your dignity while saving the day by the author of I Thought You Said This Would Work.

Jane Baye is a regular person, good at a lot of things, but identifying the serial killer right in front of her isn’t one of them.

In 1990, college senior Jane wrote to an incarcerated woman because it seemed like a nice thing to do. Thirty-six years later, that felon, actually a man, has moved in next door. He’s watching her every move, with a decades-long plan for Jane that a nice person like her would never see coming.

Especially because Jane is wrapped up in her own problems: a small-town golden boy with talk of forever and a diabolical history of cheating. When she exposes her ex, the entire town of Wonder Lake turns against her.

It’s no wonder she doesn’t see what’s coming on the night of the Norwegian heritage festival.

But woe to those who mistake Jane for a pushover. When celebration becomes a fight for survival, the very qualities that make her ordinary become the weapons she’ll bet everything on.

© 2026 by Ann Garvin, all rights reserved.

<p>Ann Garvin is the <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author of seven novels, including <i>Bummer Camp</i>, <i>There’s No Coming Back from This</i>, and <i>I Thought You Said This Would Work</i>. A finalist for the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize, Ann writes about women who do too much in a world that asks too much from them. She currently teaches creative writing at Drexel University in their low-residency master of fine arts program and has held positions at Miami University and Southern New Hampshire in their master of fine arts creative writing programs. Ann is also the founder of the multiple award–winning Tall Poppy Writers, a group of authors committed to helping readers find wonderful books. She is a sought-after speaker on writing, leadership, and health and has taught extensively in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and at festivals across the country and in Europe. For more information, visit www.anngarvin.com.</p>