This book is a phenomenal thriller with such deep, thought provoking questions about our society. If there was ever a “page turner,” it is this book. I absolutely could not put this down.
Jane lives in a shack in the woods with her kooky dad. He has raised her far apart from society, a Luddite of the most exceptional proportions. Jane, at 17, knows no one except her father, and has near no contact without the outside world. Set in the late 90’s, they only leave their Montana home periodically to sell a zine called Libertaire. Jane’s father tells her that her mother died in a car accident, which she had never questioned until now.
Hungry for the outside world, she sneaks episodes of the X-files and get access to the internet via a modem. In these early days of the internet, social media is arbitrary and sparse- but Dad wants her to learn HTML so he can publish his “manifesto.”
This is where the tires start to fall off, and learning who she is and that her father is more than just a tin foil hat extremist. I don’t want to give away any more of the plot, but know that once we leave the shack this entire story goes full throttle.
I think what sets this book apart from other suspense/thrillers is the theme of the complicated relationship we have with technology. Although it hurts just a little to call a book taking place in 1995 “historical” fiction, the time period when the world was hurtling towards connectivity with little regard for the implications truly doesn’t take that long to feel like a long time ago. In some ways, Jane’s “kooky” conspiracy dad is actually right about what he was warning the world about. And that’s what is so deeply moving about the greater theme— we know more than the characters about what is to come. We know he’s not totally wrong, even though in many ways, he is the villain of this story.
Also, the epilogue was so unexpected and wonderful. It doesn’t end with a bang, but with an echo.
Pub date was pushed from June 10 to June 3, so I am sure this is going to be a book club pick of some kind.
a best mystery/thriller of 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC. Book to be published 6/3/25
PS- that is THREE outstanding ARCs in a row for me after a dearth of mid picks. Reading so many good ones feels like an embarrassment of riches. I actually feel as though I am bragging to all my #bookstagram friends.
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