“Haunting, incisive, and unflinching…

“A quiet lawyer in a picturesque town finds herself entangled in a decades-old web of disappearances, deception, and inherited darkness in Melvin’s gripping thriller. Azalea “Zale” Augustine is a capable, quietly ambitious attorney in Chester, Nova Scotia, where snowy streets and social niceties conceal a deeply rooted darkness. When several women disappear without explanation, Zale is pulled into a chilling investigation that leads not only to her powerful law firm but to a man from her past—Ruben Hollywood, a respected colleague and the biological grandson of Heinrich Himmler.  As the truth about disappearances, historical secrets, and institutional corruption comes to the surface, Zale is forced to confront what it means to speak out, and what it costs.

Melvin weaves history into the present with unsettling clarity, showing how old ideologies find new ways to survive, especially when masked by politeness and power. She paints Ruben not as a monster out of fiction, but as something far more familiar: a polished man with influence, charm, and a long history of getting away with things. Zale is a standout heroine. Not fearless, but persistent. Her evolution is one of quiet reckoning: recognizing her shame, examining her choices, and deciding to act. She’s surrounded by a richly drawn cast; Crandel, her grief-worn mentor; Carolyn, his estranged wife turned activist; and the determined and relentless Nora, each contributing to a sense of shared urgency. The narrative doesn’t hinge on a singular act of bravery but rather on the slow accumulation of truth, fear, and determination across a network of women.

What stands out most in Melvin’s writing is how deeply she understands what people carry inside. The novel doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff: the unnamed, aching thoughts, such as grief, guilt, shame that sit just below the surface. Through Ruben’s story, the book explores how fascist and white supremacist ideologies slip through generations, disguised by wealth, education, and social standing. The novel also examines the emotional toll of silence; how shame, fear, and societal pressure keep victims quiet, and how breaking that silence requires both personal reckoning and collective courage. For readers who appreciated the raw honesty of “The Paper Palace” by Miranda Cowley Heller and the slow-burning tension of “Long Bright River” by Liz Moore, there’s much to savor here.

A devastating and clear-eyed thriller that examines how evil embeds itself in ordinary places.”