Katie Lowe

This page-turning, harrowing debut is the story of a girl trying to fit in, whose obsessive new friends and desperation to belong leads her to places she'd never imagined...dark, dangerous, and possibly even violent. In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead. She's posed on a swing on her boarding school's property, dressed all in white, with no known cause of death. Whispers and rumors swirl, with no answers. But there are a few who know what happened; there is one girl who will never forget. One year earlier: a new student, Violet, steps on the campus of Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl's boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. This is her fresh start, her chance to begin again in the wake of tragedy, leave her demons behind. Bright but a little strange, uncertain and desperate to fit in, she soon finds herself invited to an advanced study group, led by her alluring and mysterious art teacher, Annabel. There, with three other girls--Alex, Grace, and Robin--the five of them delve into the school's long-buried grim history: of Greek and Celtic legends; of the school founder's "academic" interest in the occult; of gruesome 17th century witch trials. Annabel does her best to convince the girls that her classes aren't related to ancient rites and rituals, and that they are just history and mythology. But the more she tries to warn the girls off the topic, the more they drawn to it, and the possibility that they can harness magic for themselves. Violet quickly finds herself wrapped up in this heady new world of lawless power--except she is needled by the disappearance of a former member of the group, one with whom Violet shares an uncanny resemblance. As her friends' actions take a turn for the darker and spiral out of control, she begins to wonder who she can trust, all the while becoming more deeply entangled. How far will these young girls go to protect one another...or to destroy one another?

The past haunts her. The present hunts her. Conviction @ConvictionPod · 1m The investigating officer: “I’ve seen a lot of homicides in the years since, but...that’s the one that keeps me up at night.” The husband’s best man: “They had everybody fooled. Or at least, she did. But I always knew something was off.” Hannah, the wife: “I told you. I don’t remember anything. I don’t know.” That’s all to come, this season, on Conviction. Get ready for our most twisted season yet. ~~~ Ten years ago, Hannah’s husband was brutally murdered in their home, and she (conveniently) doesn’t remember a thing about that night. But the police charged someone else—a stranger—and put him away for life. And Hannah packed up her six-year-old daughter and left London behind. But now her hard-won countryside peace is threatened. Conviction, a viral true crime podcast known for getting cases reopened and old verdicts overturned, has turned its attention to Hannah’s husband’s murder for its new season. They say police framed the man who was found guilty, and that Hannah has more suspicious secrets than just her memory loss: a history of volatility; citations at the clinic where she worked as a psychiatrist; dependencies on alcohol and pills; and a familicidal grandmother, locked away in a Gothic insane asylum until her death. As Hannah loses the trust of everyone she loves, the only person she feels she can confide in is a former colleague, Darcy, who’s come back into her life—but who may have motives of her own. But Hannah can’t tell even Darcy her deepest secret: that she’s still tormented by the memory of her husband and the crater he carved through her life.

An electrifying new thriller of true crime and deadly secrets from the acclaimed author of The Furies. Who do you believe? The Wife Hannah Catton: bereaved wife, doting mother, clinical psychologist; says she remembers nothing of the night her husband was killed. The Suspect Mike Philips: a 19-year-old repeat offender whose clothing was found at the scene, but who has repeatedly protested his innocence over the 10 years since he was imprisoned. The Journalist Anna Byers: host of the famous CONVICTION podcast that has seen numerous prison sentences overturned. She believes the wrong man is in jail, do you? Someone knows more about the murder than they’re telling. It may have been Hannah’s husband who was murdered, but listeners are about to become judge, jury, and executioner on the new season of CONVICTION.