A mother who has vanished into seclusion is forced to revisit her son’s heinous crimes in a haunting psychological thriller by the Edgar Award–winning author of Or Else.

Eight years ago, Hattie Conlee’s world was torn apart when her son, Tommy, was convicted of being a serial killer known as the Bedfellow. When Tommy escaped custody, he simply disappeared. So did Hattie. She changed her name and moved to a coastal town in Maine to build an anonymous new life. No one would find her here. Hattie couldn’t have been more wrong.

Now investigative journalist Ross Eeling has come calling. He agrees to keep Hattie’s new identity a secret on one condition: Hattie tell him things she’s never told the vultures of the press before—about her son, the murders of so many innocent women, its impact on a devastated family, and the depths of a mother’s love. Ross wants the truth.

Dredging up the most painful moments of her life is a revelation for Hattie too. Because the past is more complicated and disturbing than she realizes. And its deadly repercussions are far from over.

© 2026 by Joe Hart. ℗ 2026 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.