Still Mine

In Canadian author Stuart’s dark and deliciously disturbing debut, enigmatic Malcolm Boon hires Clare O’Dey, who has run away from her husband, to come to the remote mining town of Blackmore (in what could be either Canada or the U.S.) and search for Shayna Fowles, who disappeared three weeks earlier. Clare and Shayna have much in common. Both women were drug users and trapped in loveless, violent marriages; they even resemble each other, and their husbands are likewise similar. Vanishing and using another name was easy for Clare, who wonders if Shayna did the same. Moving into a ramshackle trailer next to Shayna’s parents’ home, Clare becomes involved with local drug dealer Charlie Merritt, single mom Sara Gorman, and Shayna’s ex-husband. Secrets abound in this mountain town, which has been dying since a tragedy shuttered the local mine. Clare doesn’t know whom to trust, including Boon, who’s working on behalf of an unknown client. Stuart’s perceptive look at addiction, abuse, and obsession will resonate with fans of psychological thrillers. [em]Agent: Chris Bucci, McDermid Agency (Canada). (July) [/em]