“What the Chrysalis Keeps” by Mica Merrill Rice is a dark, unsettling psychological thriller that lingers long after the final page. - Rachel, ARC reviewer

Behind the name, beyond the gates, the blood on their hands is the same.

Hiding behind the name Red, Imogen works at an underground fight club at night and a condemned house by day, until she finds herself at the center of another murder.

An invitation to Swallowtail promises her safety in a diverse sisterhood, at a secluded estate miles away from anywhere. But behind the gilded gates, lush landscapes, and manicured smiles, is Sasha, a woman who has turned her own scars into a crown.

Two broken women. Two timelines. One sun-drenched descent into darkness. What becomes of women when pain is the only power? In Swallowtail, the transformation has already begun.

While Imogen seeks to bury her past, echoes of another woman emerge from a decade prior—one who learns that in this predator vs. prey world, the only way to survive is to become the most dangerous woman in the room. But after one sister goes missing, and another turns up dead, all eyes point back to Imogen. In her twisted world, Sasha sees individuality as a liability, where one mistake will burn it all down, and Imogen must be punished.

Imogen has only one rule for herself: Don’t Tell and Run Like Hell. But in Swallowtail, there is nowhere to run, and the woman in power is watching, waiting for the one who will betray her.

Blending the atmospheric dread of Stacy Willingham and Gillian Flynn with the sunlit, ritualistic horror of Midsommar, What the Chrysalis Keeps is a harrowing psychological thriller that explores the dark side of sisterhood and the price of power.

Content Warnings: This novel contains mature themes, psychological manipulation, and descriptions of violence (including violence against women), murder, drug and alcohol abuse, psychological manipulation, human trafficking themes, sexual assault, child molestation (recounted, not depicted), suicide (off page) and traumatic loss. Reader discretion is advised.