From Meg Little Reilly, comes a stunning thriller that will keep readers up turning pages long into the night, EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS! Grab your copy of EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS today!
CAUGHT IN THE BACKWASH, THEY HAVE LOST CONTROL OF THEIR LIVES…
For fans of Megan Abbott and Chris Bohjalian comes a novel of moral complexity about friends who must choose between self-preservation and doing the right thing in the wake of a fatal boating accident. Set in the moody off-season of Martha’s Vineyard, Everything That Follows is a plunge into the dark waters of secrets and flexible morals. The truth becomes whatever we say it is…
Around midnight, three friends take their partying from bar to boat on a misty fall evening. Just as the weather deteriorates, one of them suddenly and confusingly goes overboard. Is it an accident? The result of an unwanted advance? His body disappears quickly, silently, into the dark water. The circumstances are murky, but what is clear is that the other two need to notify the authorities. Minutes become hours become days as they hesitate, caught up in their guilt and hope that their friend has somehow made it safely to shore. As valuable time passes, they find themselves deep in a moral morass with huge implications as they struggle to move forward and live with their dark secret.
EXCERPT:
Six
hours later, a fist pounded on the front door of the shop, sending a bolt to
Kat’s fogged consciousness. The first thing she saw as she opened her eyes were
those blue and green shower tiles…and then she remembered the puking…and the
wet trek home…until she’d walked backward in her mind all the way to the panic
in Kyle’s eyes. The memory of his eyes sent another tsunami of guilt over her
aching body.
Another
friendly knock came from outside.
Kat
pushed herself up and reached for the knob of the bathroom door. She needed to
go see who was there. She had to act normal. She was an innocent person who’d
made a mistake.She had noreason to avoid a knock at her door in the early
morning. But then she saw her reflection in the mirror—her stringy hair matted
around her forehead and lidded hangover eyes. On one cheek was a fresh bruise
from when she’d passed out on the tile, and on the other, the dried stomach
bile she’d been sleeping in. It wasn’t an innocent look. She waited for the
knocking to stop. Then she counted to one hundred and left the bathroom.
The
apartment was flooded with morning light. The storm had moved on.
Through
a kitchen window, Kat looked down at two men and a woman standing at the side
entrance to the shop. The people who’d been knocking, she presumed. They all
wore the same windbreakers, which said Woods Hole Erosion Team across the back.
She’d seen them around town for the past three days, ever since the landslide
on their beach. At the reminder of the landslide, Kat felt another wave of
panic, this one mixed with despair. There were suddenly too many unsolvable
problems before her. And those problems were intersecting in troubling ways.
Ever since the landslide, area beaches had been crawling with police,
scientists and cleanup crews. People were watching those beaches with greater
attention now. They were seeing things that might normally go unseen. Things,
she worried, like late-night boating excursions.
No,
she reminded herself. There was no one else on the beach last night. She
definitely hadn’t seen anyone else.
Kat
watched the three windbreakers below. They were discussing something; it looked
lighthearted. The older man told a joke and the other two laughed. The woman
pulled out a flyer and stuck it in the doorjamb.
They walked away, laughing
again.
Relieved,
Kat went to the kitchen sink and drank a tall glass of water. Then she walked
back to the bathroom, turned on the shower and let it run while she peeled the
damp clothes from her body. She needed to see Hunter, but she couldn’t leave
the house looking filthy and wild. She just needed a few minutes to pull
herself together, then get out there into the world anddo what needed to be
done.
The
sun was shining brighter when she emerged from the bathroom and she worried
that she’d taken too much time. Kat wanted to look like she was in a rush when
she arrived at the police station. She was
in a rush.
A
short walk to Hunter’s house at a brisk speed. Nothing strange about that.
By
Kat’s calculation, it was 7:50 when she knocked on Hunter’s door. She knocked
loud and without any pauses because the minutes were moving faster than she’d
anticipated, and eight thirty was her new arbitrary deadline for getting to the
police station. After that, it would look too casual, like it hadn’t been a
priority.
The
door swung open and a tall man in a pressed oxford shirt greeted her.
“Please.
Come in,” he said.
“Is
Hunter here?” Kat had never seen this guy. She stepped inside and let the man
close and lock the door behind her.
“Hunter’s
resting,” he said calmly.
A
family doctor, she considered…but he didn’t seem like a doctor.
His clothes were too sharp, his wristwatch too ostentatious.
“I’m
an associate of the senator’s,” the man explained.
Kat
looked past him, around the grand entrance of the house, up the stairs. “May I
talk to Hunter, please?”
She didn’t want to act alarmed before this stranger.
“Let’s have a
quick chat, first.”
Review
So I must say of all the characters in the book my favorite was Hunter and Weeta. Yes Weeta was a child and a minor character but she was also drama free!!
Kat's defiance to wanting more for herself that the fairy-tale is the reason why she was in the predicament that could truly change her life. Kat's life before Martha's Vineyard wasn't something to remember. Her family life or lack thereof was hard on her and once she entered this town, she found that in Sean, Orla and Weeta. There was something about a happy ending and unconditional love that enticed her but was this the family for her?
Hunter is the bad boy!! He lives for the thrill of always getting into trouble. His father is running for office and everything he does is always in someones eyes. He loves the freedom but hates the life he has. He just wants to be happy cooking and having friends that love him. He wants the happily ever after but can he find it?
Hunter and Kat endures something and it brings them together in a way that wasn't expected. They have to depend on each other for their sanity, trust and ultimately their love.
I loved this story and how things that normally don't happen just do. The before, during and after events truly tell a story of how friendships evolve to something new and refreshing. The growth of love from one to another and how sometimes things belong in the past just makes the story even better!!
Grab your copy of EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS here!
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“Taut with moral complexity and a subtly building tension, this is the kind of story that punishes you if you dare to put it down. ”
— Kim Cross, New York Times best selling author of WHAT STANDS IN A STORM
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“[a] skillfully wrought tale of atonement in a frame of psychological suspense.”— Booklist
About Meg Little Reilly:
Meg Little Reilly is the author of the novels EVERYTHING THAT FOLLOWS and WE ARE UNPREPARED.
She's a public radio commentator, essayist, and outdoors enthusiast. Prior to writing novels, Meg worked in national politics and the White House.
She holds a B.A. from the University of Vermont and an M.A. from the George Washington University. These days, she lives in rural Vermont with her husband and two daughters.
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