Always Watching

Psychiatrist Nadine Lavoie learns she can outrun her past for only so long in this powerful novel of psychological suspense from Thriller Award–winner Stevens (Still Missing), her third stand-alone. For decades, the stoic Dr. Lavoie has largely managed to repress traumatic memories of the time she spent as a teen in a commune near Victoria, B.C., led by charismatic self-styled guru Aaron Quinn. Then she hears his name for the first time in years—from new patient Heather Simeon, a suicidal, terrified young woman who has just left Quinn’s River of Life Spiritual Center. No sooner does Lavoie start delving into Quinn’s current activities in hopes of helping Heather than unsettling things start to happen to her—and she also has increasingly distressing flashbacks of her commune days. Although Stevens relies too heavily on conveniently timed recovered memories to propel her twisty plot, readers will likely become as hooked as Quinn’s followers. Announced first printing of 150,000. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Agency. (June)