Accessible literary fiction with a dash of domestic suspense.

Annabelle Granger has always made good decisions. That’s why she quit oil painting in college to become a robotics engineer. That’s why she married Dr. Paul Granger, management consultant, her supportive modern mate. Together with their five-year-old son, Heath, they are living the suburban dream. But Annabelle fears her sensible life lacks originality. Will she ever make her mark?

Following a violent death at Heath’s school, the Grangers uproot for Box Elder, New Mexico, a rural farming valley, seeking the simple life. While Paul travels to clients each week and Heath plays all day with his new friends at the river, Annabelle seizes her chance to leave a mark. She builds an Instagram brand, remaking herself as a bellwether warning of the ills of suburbia and touting the joys of homesteading.

But her Instagram image disguises a much darker reality. Life amongst the underserved families who have lived on the same land for generations challenges Annabelle’s worldview and has set her decision-making compass spinning. Are the neighborhood children independent or neglected? Are they helping Heath recover from the terrible incident at his old school or encouraging his morbid fascination with death? Is this wholesome country life or something much more sinister?

Annabelle has always made good decisions, but moving to Box Elder will not be one of them.

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