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A Thriller
by Kate Robards
A missing child, a small town's secrets, and a desperate killer set the stage for a darkly wrought debut novel that will haunt readers long after the last page. Perfect for fans of Julia Heaberlin and Chevy Stevens.
It's not that they've been all that close in the past few years, but sisters Willa and Sawyer Stannard are bonded by the ups and downs of the life they've lived with their mercurial single mother. When Willa is found dead in her apartment from an apparent suicide, Sawyer just knows it's not possible. A cryptic note from the acclaimed broadcast journalist leads police to rule out foul play. Shattered by grief—and obsessed by the idea that her sister's death was not a suicide—Sawyer plunges into a search for the truth.
When Sawyer learns that Willa was writing an explosive true crime book about the decades-old disappearance of a toddler that rocked a small town hundreds of miles away, she's even more convinced that Willa's death is suspicious. Believing it is somehow connected to the research Willa was doing for the book, Sawyer begins to trace her sister's steps, deep into a community she can't begin to understand and to a truth that could destroy her as easily as it did Willa.
As she masterfully ratchets up the suspense, Robards never loosens her grip in a debut novel sure to keep readers guessing—and talking.
"A welcome debut that's both a fleet thriller and a pathology of sisterhood at its most harrowing." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Bewitching. A dark and chilling tale of buried secrets, stolen children and family bonds that will keep you turning pages late into the night." —Michele Campbell, internationally bestselling author of It's Always the Husband
"Told through dual POVs, this twisty thriller unravels multiple mysteries, masterfully ramping up the tension to uncover the Stannard family's dark secrets. Robards' gripping novel will have you second guessing how well you really know your own family." —Steph Mullin & Nicole Mabry, co-authors of The Family Tree and When She Disappeared
This information about The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Kate Robards holds a degree in journalism and works in communications at a nonprofit organization. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and children. The Three Deaths of Willa Stannard is her first novel.
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