The Ones We Love

Can they survive what’s behind the padlocked door?

Since the weekend of the party--the one twenty-two-year-old Liv can’t remember, the one that left her covered in bruises--she’s been locked out of her bedroom by a padlock. Her parents are behaving oddly and her best friend won’t respond to her texts. Maybe she really was out of control that night?

Meanwhile Liv’s father, Janus, is not sure he can do what is necessary to keep this secret hidden. He brought his family from Australia to Los Angeles to chase his dream of seeing his novel on the big screen, and he can’t let them down. Not again.

Kay gave up everything when she had Liv and Casper. So now she’ll do whatever she has to do to take care of them. Her marriage, though, is a different story. And the neighbors--well, she’ll just have to be more careful.

Casper, the youngest, was away that weekend, but he knows something isn’t right. His parents don’t look each other in the eye anymore. His father’s hands tremble for no reason. And where does Liv keep disappearing to in the middle of the night? Casper decides to find out what no one will tell him about that weekend. What lies behind the padlocked door?

Anna Snoekstra is the author of Only Daughter, Little Secrets and The Spite Game. Her novels have been published in over twenty countries and sixteen languages. She has written for The Guardian, Meanjin, KYD, Lindsay, SMH, LitHub, The Griffith Review and is a profile writer for The Saturday Paper. In 2022 she released the critically acclaimed Out of Breath, which is in bookstores now, and in 2023 she released her first audio drama This Isn’t Happening.