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Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Natalie D. Richards
From the New York Times bestselling author of Five Total Strangers and Seven Dirty Secrets, a tense new thriller.
Four days alone in the desert. Except they're not as alone as they think.
A year ago, Katie and her cousin Aster survived a night that left their world and easy friendship fractured. Desperate to heal and leave the past behind them, they tackle four days of hiking in the Utah backcountry. But the desert they've loved for years has tricks up its sleeve.
An illness, an injury, and a freak storm leave them short on confidence and supplies. When they come across a young couple with extra supplies on the trail, they're grateful and relieved―at first. Riley exudes friendliness, but everything about her boyfriend Finn spells trouble. That night, after some chilling admissions about Finn from Riley, Katie and Aster wake to hear the couple fighting. Helpless and trapped in the darkness, they witness Riley's desperate race into the night, with Finn chasing after.
In the morning, they find the couple's camp, but Riley and Finn? Vanished. Katie is sure Riley is in trouble. And with help a two-day hike away, they know they are the only ones who can save her before something terrible happens. The clock is ticking and their supplies are dwindling, but Katie and Aster know they have to find Riley before Finn―or the desert―gets to her first.
Edgar Awards, 2025
"Genre vet Richards is no stranger to chilling and suspenseful stories, and this survival thriller earns a spot on the shelf with some of her standouts" ―Kirkus Reviews
"Natalie D. Richards' latest crackles with tension and desert heat. This pulse-pumping survival thriller is not to be missed!" ―Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos and The Reunion
This information about 49 Miles Alone 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.
Natalie D. Richards writes books that will keep you up way past your bedtime. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio and when she's not writing or reading, you can probably find her wrangling Wookiee, her enormous dustmop of a dog. Visit her on Twitter @natdrichards or at nataliedrichards.com.
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