In this "crackling domestic suspense" filled with "wry humor and deft pacing" (Alyssa Cole), no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.

Edgar Award Finalist for Best Novel • Anthony Award winner for Best Hardcover Novel • Lefty Award winner for Best Mystery Novel • A Book of the Month Club Pick • An Oxygen Book Club Pick • A Today Show Spring Fiction Pick • A New York Post Best New Book of the Week • A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year • A South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery of the Year • A CrimeReads Best Psychological Thriller of the Year

“A mystery that has everything I love most: an intriguing set up; an absorbing storyline that kept me guessing; a satisfying ending; and, most of all, incredibly well-developed characters I kept thinking about long after I finished the book.” ―Jasmine Guillory, Today Show

“I found out my sister was back in New York from Instagram. I found out she’d died from the New York Daily News.”

When the body of reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her twenty-fifth birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. A tragedy, certainly, but not a crime.

Yet Columbia grad student Lena—principled, headstrong, and allergic to the spotlight—knows that can’t be the case. Despite the bitter truth that the two hadn’t spoken in two years, they were half-sisters. Lena knew Desiree. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. Something is very wrong with the facts. So why is no one listening?

While the two sisters had been torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their difficult father, Lena becomes determined to find justice for Desiree. Even if that means untangling her family’s darkest secrets—or ending up dead herself.

“A briskly plotted, socially astute thriller.” ―Los Angeles Times 

“Equal parts charm and heartbreak, with razor-sharp insights on class, race, and family.” —Laura Lippman

“Dishes up the glitz of the haves and the struggles of the have-nots, infusing classic noir storytelling with Big Apple glamour—#pageturner.” —Oprah Daily

“A twisty murder mystery with nuance and heart.” ―BookPage
 
“Noir for the media-struck generation...Original and witty.” ―National Public Radio

In this "crackling domestic suspense" filled with "wry humor and deft pacing" (Alyssa Cole), no one bats an eye when a Black reality TV star is found dead—except her estranged half-sister, whose refusal to believe the official story leads her on a dangerous search for the truth.

Edgar Award Finalist for Best Novel • Anthony Award winner for Best Hardcover Novel • Lefty Award winner for Best Mystery Novel • A Book of the Month Club Pick • An Oxygen Book Club Pick • A Today Show Spring Fiction Pick • A New York Post Best New Book of the Week • A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year • A South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Mystery of the Year • A CrimeReads Best Psychological Thriller of the Year

“A mystery that has everything I love most: an intriguing set up; an absorbing storyline that kept me guessing; a satisfying ending; and, most of all, incredibly well-developed characters I kept thinking about long after I finished the book.” ―Jasmine Guillory, Today Show

“I found out my sister was back in New York from Instagram. I found out she’d died from the New York Daily News.”

When the body of reality TV star Desiree Pierce is found on a playground in the Bronx the morning after her twenty-fifth birthday party, the police and the media are quick to declare her death an overdose. A tragedy, certainly, but not a crime.

Yet Columbia grad student Lena—principled, headstrong, and allergic to the spotlight—knows that can’t be the case. Despite the bitter truth that the two hadn’t spoken in two years, they were half-sisters. Lena knew Desiree. And Desiree would never travel above 125th Street. Something is very wrong with the facts. So why is no one listening?

While the two sisters had been torn apart by Desiree’s partying and by their difficult father, Lena becomes determined to find justice for Desiree. Even if that means untangling her family’s darkest secrets—or ending up dead herself.

“A briskly plotted, socially astute thriller.” ―Los Angeles Times 

“Equal parts charm and heartbreak, with razor-sharp insights on class, race, and family.” —Laura Lippman

“Dishes up the glitz of the haves and the struggles of the have-nots, infusing classic noir storytelling with Big Apple glamour—#pageturner.” —Oprah Daily

“A twisty murder mystery with nuance and heart.” ―BookPage
 
“Noir for the media-struck generation...Original and witty.” ―National Public Radio