Leave the Girls Behind

The acclaimed author of the ‘tour de force’ (The New York Times Book Review) Before You Knew My Name returns with another taut suspense thriller, overlaid with a moving exploration of the ways in which violent crime ricochets through the lives of those left behind.

Nineteen years ago, Ruth-Ann Baker’s childhood friend was murdered by convicted killer Ethan Oswald. Haunted by what happened, Ruth has long been convinced Oswald had other victims. But no one has ever believed her.

After dropping out of college and failing to prove her serial killer theory, Ruth is bartending when she hears that another young girl has gone missing from her home town. With Oswald now deceased, she begins to suspect he had an accomplice. A partner in crime who is still active today.

Crossing the globe from New York to New Zealand, Ruth unlocks parts of herself that she hasn’t dared to revisit, bringing her perilously close to three different women. The deeper she delves, the more she can’t shake the feeling that one of them knows the truth. About her childhood friend. About the missing girl. And, perhaps most dangerously of all, about Ruth herself…