arcade crimewise

What happened at the river last night? A twisty psychological thriller for readers of Megan Miranda, Megan Abbot, Taylor Adams, and Catriona Ward

Sometime between the late night and early morning hours, in a dank, uncomfortable interrogation room, sits a young woman about to tell you a chilling story. Her pregnant sister, Sarah, is missing. Her cousin is somehow involved. They were all down by the Schuylkill River last night, she says, but she won’t say why. She’s cold, terrified, and confused about what happened. Or is she just lying?

You want to believe her. Her story seems plausible on the surface. But as you dig deeper, it’s clear something is very wrong. Instead of helping to find her sister, she keeps telling you stories about her ex-roommate, Gemma. Gemma, who came into their lives offering a six-month cash deposit up front, proffered from a dirty gym bag. Gemma, who disrupted their routines with her manipulative behavior, her bizarre habits, and her secrets. Gemma, who disappeared quietly several months ago, leaving no trace of where she went or that she had ever lived with them all.

Who was Gemma and what happened to her? What does it have to do with Sarah’s disappearance? Are they part of some elaborate game or is something else going on? And what happened by the river last night? Why can’t she just tell the truth?

From the author of They Did Bad Things, Gemma is a devious new mystery and slowly escalating psychological thriller with a touch of horror.

Lauren A. Forry was brought up in the woods of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to earn her undergraduate degree in Cinema Studies and Screenwriting from New York University. She later earned her MA and MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in London, England. There she was awarded the Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize for her thesis work, Abigale Hall, published by Arcade. She is also the author of They Did Bad Things, published by Arcade CrimeWise. She is a faculty member at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA and also adjuncts for Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program. She and her former roommate were only suspected of kidnapping once.