She Thought She Was Safe

A young woman is reunited with the famous father she never knew at a secluded lakeside community hiding nightmarish secrets in this immersive modern-day gothic for readers of psychological suspense by Mary Kubica, Shari Lapena and Megan Miranda.

After the double blow of divorce and her mother’s death, Emma Shrader receives an invitation to meet her estranged father for the first time. Alex Spencer is a wealthy, renowned author who had a brief fling with Emma’s mom, then disappeared. Now he’d like Emma to come stay at his beautiful home on Cheshire Lake in Maine.

The Spencer house is a towering Victorian steeped in history and lore, from its ornate turret to the little cemetery nestled in adjoining woods. It should be an inspiring place for Emma to finish working on her own novel, especially with Alex’s guidance. But when a neighbor is found dead under strange circumstances, the surroundings begin to feel less idyllic and welcoming. Not everyone is happy about Emma’s arrival, either—especially not Alex’s other daughter, Sunny.

There are things Emma keeps to herself about her chaotic childhood and ex-husband, but Cheshire Lake harbors secrets too—some recent, some decades old. What exactly has been going on in this quiet, close-knit community? And how much of it has to do with Emma’s arrival?

As Emma learns of other disappearances and mysterious deaths, what seemed like a fresh start begins to fill her with unease. Emma thought Cheshire Lake held the home and family she’s long been looking for. Now she wonders if she’ll ever be allowed to leave alive …

“Brimming with creeping dread and isolation, this novel held me in its thrall from page one. Parlato tightens her expert grip, layering a creepy backstory of families enmeshed in disturbing and deadly ways, with increasingly nerve wracking circumstances in the present, and leading the reader to an explosive finale.”—Emily Carpenter, author of Gothictown on She Thought She was Safe